lEx  ICthrtfi 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"Sver'thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 


AVI  in  Al<(  IIITI  C  1 1  K  A I  AND  I'lNI  ARTS  LIBRARY 

Gift  of  Seymour  B.  C^jrst  Old  York  Library 


1 

Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2013 

http://archive.org/details/storyofbronxfromOOjenk_0 


By  STEPHEN  JENKINS 

The  Greatest  Street  in  the  World — Broadway 
The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


The  St 


fThe  Br, 

From  the  Purchase  Made  by  th< 
Indians  in  1639  to  the  Pr 


The  Purchase  of  Keskeskeck,  1639 

After  the  painting  by  E.  W.  Deming  in  the  Morris  High  School 

Cotirtesy  of  Architect  C.  B.  J.  Snyder 
Member  of  Westchester  County  Hr  itniifl  So«a«tT 


Author  of  14  The  Greatest  Street  »n  th«  WorW  Broach 


'•r 


With  HO  Illustrations 


G.  P.  Pu 
New  York 
tTbe  ffcnfclu 


The  Story 

of 

The  Bronx 

From  the  Purchase  Made  by  the  Dutch  from  the 
Indians  in  1639  to  the  Present  Day 


By 

Stephen  Jenkins 

Member  of  Westchester  County  Historical  Society 
Author  of  "  The  Greatest  Street  in  the  World— Broadway  " 


With  flO  Illustrations  and  Maps 


G.  P,  Putnam's  Sons 
New  York  and  London 
3be  f?nicfterbocfter  pxces 

1912 


Copyright,  1912 

BY 

STEPHEN  JENKINS 


tTbe  *nfcfeerboclter  fcreas,  Hew  IPorft 


This  Book  is  Dedicated 

TO  THE 

NORTH  SIDE  BOARD  OF  TRADE  OF 
THE   BOROUGH  OF   THE  BRONX 

WHOSE  EFFORTS — NOT  FOR  THE  ADVANCEMENT  OR  BENEFIT  OF  INDIVIDUALS, 
BUT   FOR   THE    GENERAL    WELFARE  OF   THE    COMMUNITY — HAVE 
ADDED  SO  MUCH  IN  RECENT  YEARS  TO   THE  PROGRESS 
AND  PROSPERITY  OF  THE  BOROUGH 


TO  THE  BRONX 


I  sat  me  down  upon  a  green  bank  side, 
Skirting  the  smooth  edge  of  a  gentle  river, 

Whose  waters  seemed  unwillingly  to  glide, 

Like  parting  friends,  who  linger  while  they  sever; 

Enforced  to  go,  yet  seeming  still  unready, 

Backward  they  wind  their  way  in  many  a  wistful  eddy. 

And  I  did  leave  thy  loveliness  to  stand 

Again  in  the  dull  world  of  earthly  blindness, 

Pain'd  with  the  pressure  of  unfriendly  hands, 
Sick  of  smooth  looks,  agued  with  icy  kindness; 

Left  I  for  this  thy  shades,  where  none  intrude, 

To  prison  wandering  thought  and  mar  sweet  solitude. 

Yet  I  will  look  upon  thy  face  again, 
My  own  romantic  Bronx,  and  it  will  be 

A  face  more  pleasant  than  the  face  of  men. 
Thy  waves  are  old  companions;  I  shall  see 

A  well-remembered  form  in  each  old  tree, 

And  hear  a  voice  long  loved  in  thy  wild  minstrelsy. 

Joseph  Rodman  Drake. 


V 


INTRODUCTION 


THE  preparation  of  this  history  has  taken  over  a 
decade,  during  which  time  I  have  jotted  down 
various  facts  and  incidents  as  I  have  run  across 
them,  either  in  books,  or  in  the  daily  press,  or  in  magazines. 
I  have  kept  no  account  of  the  sources  from  which  I  have 
drawn  my  facts,  so  that  I  can  furnish  no  bibliography. 
The  principal  sources  from  which  a  great  deal  of  the  early 
historical  matter  has  been  drawn  are  Bolton's  History  of 
Westchester  County  (both  editions)  and  Scharf's  History  of 
Westchester  County.  The  earlier  history  of  the  Borough  can 
be  found  in  both  these  works,  if  one  has  plenty  of  time  to 
search  for  it. 

The  facts  in  regard  to  railroads  I  have  obtained  from  the 
reports  of  the  State  Engineer,  from  those  of  the  Railroad 
Commission,  from  Poor's  Manual,  and  from  the  officials  of 
the  several  roads  of  which  descriptions  are  given.  I  have, 
also,  received  direct  information  in  regard  to  churches  from 
the  pastors  and  others  connected  with  such  institutions.  I 
am  especially  indebted  to  Father  D.  P.  O'Neil  for  information 
concerning  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

Most  of  the  pictures  illustrating  this  book  are  from  actual 
photographs  taken  by  me.  Few  old  prints  of  the  Borough 
exist;  but  J.  Clarence  Davies,  Esq.  has  a  very  fine  collection 
of  New  York  prints  and  pictures  which  he  very  kindly  placed 
at  my  disposal  for  copying.    Others  have  been  equally  kind 

vii 


viii 


Introduction 


in  other  matters,  and  I  here  wish  to  thank  those  who  have  so 
kindly  taken  the  trouble  to  answer  my  inquiries  or  to  give  me 
information. 

There  are  to-day  in  the  old  city  of  New  York  (the  Borough 
of  Manhattan)  but  three  pre-Revolutionary  structures  of  a 
public  or  semi-public  character:  Fraunces'  Tavern,  St.  Paul's 
Chapel,  and  the  Roger  Morris,  or  "  Jumel, "  mansion.  Within 
the  Borough  of  The  Bronx  there  are  still  a  number  of  historic 
landmarks.  If  this  book  lead  to  the  preservation  of  but  one 
of  these,  I  shall  feel  that  it  has  not  been  written  in  vain. 

Stephen  Jenkins. 

Mt.  Vernon,  New  York, 
April,  1912. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER 

I. — The  Political  Formation  of  the  Borough, 

and  its  Topography  i 

II. — Under  the  Dutch   24 

III.  — Under  the  Lord  Proprietor,  1664-1685  .  45 

IV.  — As  a  Royal  Province,  1685-1776     .       .  68 
V. — Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  86 

VI. — The  Revolution,  to  September,  1776      .  113 

VII. — The  Revolution,  from  September,  1776,  to 

November,  1776   133 

VIII. — The  Revolution,  from  November,  1776,  to 

End  of  War   151 

IX. — Ferries  and  Bridges       ....  177 

X. — Early  Means  of  Communication     .       .  209 

XI. — Later  Means  of  Communication     .       .  228 

XII.— The  Churches   251 

ix 


x  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIII.  — The  Parks  and  Cemeteries    .       .       .  289 

XIV.  — KlNGSBRIDGE   325 

XV. — Fordham  Manor   342 

XVI. — MORRISANIA   358 

XVII— West  Farms   380 

XVIII. — Westchester   396 

XIX. — Eastchester  and  Pelham        .       .       .  421 

Index   433 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGB 

The  Purchase  of  Keskeskeck,  1639      .       .  Frontispiece 


After  the  painting  in  the  Morris  High  School  by  E.  W.  Deming. 
Courtesy  of  Mr.  C.  B.  J.  Snyder. 

Map  Showing  the  Townships  Act  of  March  7,  1788      .  2 

Southern  Part  of  the  Township  of  Yonkers,  1867,  Made 
into  the  Township  of  Kingsbridge,  1874,  and  Part  of 
the  Annexed  District,  1875  3 

Map  of  Morrisania  and  West  Farms     ....  4 

Southern  Part  of  the  Township  of  Eastchester,  1867, 
Annexed  to  New  York  City  in  1895  5 

Map  of  the  Township  of  Westchester,  1867   ...  6 

Southern  Part  of  the  Township  of  Pelham,  1867,  Annexed 
in  1895  7 

Morris  High  School,  Boston  Road  10 

From  a  photograph  by  Willard  R.  Pyle. 

Signing  the  Treaty  with  the  Indians  in  1642  at  the  Home 
of  Jonas  Bronck  28 

From  the  painting  by  John  Ward  Dunsmore.   Copyright,  1908. 
Courtesy  of  the  Title  Guarantee  and  Trust  Company. 

The  Borough  at  the  End  of  the  Dutch  Period      .       .  44 

Map  of  Brouncksland  64 

Map  of  Bronx  Neck.    Patent  of  1676  ....  65 

xi 


xii 


Illustrations 


PAGE 

At  the  End  of  the  English  Period.  [Insert:]  Battle- 
field of  Pell's  Point,  Oct.  1 8,  1776      ....  82 

Facsimiles  of  New  York  Colonial  Currency  .       .       .  106 

Map  Showing  British  Fortifications.  Compiled  from  the 
Headquarters  Map  and  Showing  Principal  Streets  of 
the  Present        .  126 

The  Phoenix  and  the  Rose  in  the  Engagement  with  the 
Enemy's  Fire-ships  and  Galleys,  on  August  16,  1776  130 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  D.  Serres,  from  a  sketch 
by  Sir  John  Wallace. 

The  Valentine  House,  Later  the  Varian  Homestead,  at 
the  Corner  of  Van  Cortlandt  Avenue  and  Woodlawn 
Road  .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .       .  .131 

Battle-ground  of  Pell's  Point,  Looking  West  toward  the 
First  Position  of  the  Americans.  Glover's  Rock  Is 
the  Boulder  near  the  Road        .       .       .       .       .  144 

The  Battle-ground  of  Pell's  Point,  Looking  East  over  the 
Causeway  and  City  Island  Road.  The  View  is  Taken 
from  the  Top  of  the  Smaller  Boulder        .       .       .    145  - 

The  Attack  upon  the  Stockbridge  Indians     .       .       .    1 62 
From  Simcoe's  Military  Journal. 

Farmers'  Bridge  

Courtesy  of  the  Department  of  Bridges,  New  York  City. 

Old  King's  Bridge  

Courtesy  of  the  Department  of  Bridges,  New  York  City. 

The  First  Harlem  Bridge,  N.  Y  ,  i860  . 
From  Valentine's  Manual. 

The  Second  Harlem,  or  Third  Avenue  Bridge.    Made  of 

Cast-iron,  i860  196 

Courtesy  of  the  Department  of  Bridges,  New  York  City. 


.  188 
.  189 
I96 


Illustrations 


xiii 


PAGE 

The  Present  Third  Avenue,  or  Harlem  Bridge,  Opened 

August  i,  1898  197 

Courtesy  of  the  Department  of  Bridges,  New  York  City. 

Kingsbridge   .       .  197 

From  an  old  print  in  the  Collection  of  J.  Clarence  Davies,  Esq. 

Macomb's  Dam,  Harlem  River,  1850    .       .       .  .198 
From  Valentine's  Manual,  i860. 

The  Second  Macomb's  Dam  Bridge,  1861     .       .  .198 
Courtesy  of  the  Department  of  Bridges,  New  York  City. 

The  Present,  or  Third   Macomb's  Dam  Bridge,  also 
Called  Central  Bridge       .       .       .       .       .  .199 

Courtesy  of  the  Department  of  Bridges,  New  York  City. 

High  Bridge   .       .       ,  199 

Washington  Bridge  204 

Courtesy  of  the  Department  of  Bridges,  New  York  City. 

Map  Showing  Principal  Old  Roads  of  the  Borough       .  212 
Compiled  by  the  author. 

Old  Foot-bridge  over  Bronx  River  near  Woodlawn       .  230 
From  a  sketch  made  in  188 1  by  W.  J.  Wilson. 

The  Railroad  Depot  on  Fourth  Avenue,  Corner  of  27th 

Street  230 

From  Valentine's  Manual,  i860. 

St.  Peter's,  Westchester,  1700  254 

From  a  sketch  in  the  vestry  of  the  church. 

The  Present  Church  of  St.  Peter's,  Westchester    .  .255 

Saint  Ann's  Episcopal  Church,  Morrisania,  Saint  Ann's 
Avenue  and  East  140th  Street  274 


xiv  Illustrations 


PAGE 


The  Reformed  Dutch  Church  on  the  Kingsbridge  Road, 
Fordham  .  .274 

The  Presbyterian  Church,  East  180th  Street,  West  Farms  280 

The    Roman   Catholic   Church  of   Saint  Raymond, 

Westchester       .      ..       .       .              .       .       .  281 

Van  Cortlandt  Park,  the  Dam  and  Mill       .       .       .  294 

The  Van  Cortlandt  Mansion  in  Van  Cortlandt  Park    .  294 

Curling  on  the  Lake  in  Van  Cortlandt  Park  .       .       .  300 

Vault  Hill,  the  Ancient  Burial-place  of  the  Van  Cortlandt 

Family,  Van  Cortlandt  Park     .....  300 

Devoe's  Lane,  Leading  to  Yonkers  and  Tuckahoe  (1907). 

Indian  Field  to  the  Left  of  the  Road  ....  301 

The  Monument  on  Indian  Field,  Van  Cortlandt  Park  .  301 

The  Bridge,  Bronx  Park   304 

The  Lorillard  Mansion  in  Bronx  Park   ....  304 

The  Old  Lorillard  Snuff-mill,  Bronx  Park     .       .       .  305 

The  Falls  in  Bronx  Park   305 

The  Lower  Dam,  and  the  Site  of  De  Lancey's  Mills, 

Bronx  Park   306 

The  Botanical  Museum,  Bronx  Park     ....  306 

The  Rocking-stone,  Bronx  Park   307 

Bowne  House  Erected  1730  on  Site  of  Pell's  Manor- 
house;  near  here  the  British  Landed  on  October  18, 

1776— Pclham  Bay  Park   310 


Illustrations  xv 

PAGE 

Memorial  Tablet  on  Glover's  Rock,  Pelham  Bay  Park  .  310 

The  "  Split  Rock"  Boulder  on  the  Prospect  Hill  Road, 
Pelham  Bay  Park      .       .       .       .       .       .  .311 

The  Tree  under  which  Pell  Made  his  Treaty  with  the 
Indians  and  Purchased  their  Lands  (now  destroyed) 
— Pelham  Bay  Park  311 

Camping  out  on  Hunter's  Island,  Pelham  Bay  Park     .  316 

The  Indian  Rock  Called  "Mishow,"  Hunter's  Island, 
Pelham  Bay  Park      .  316 

Pelham  Bridge  in  1865  318 

From  a  sketch  by  W.  J.  Wilson. 

Pelham  Bridge,  over  Eastchester  Creek,  Pelham  Bay  Park  319 

The  New  Pelham  Bridge  319 

The  Zbrowski  Mansion,  Claremont  Park      .       .  .320 

Poe's  Cottage,  Fordham  320 

From  a  photo  by  A.  A.  Stoughton,  1885. 

The  Farragut  Monument  in  Woodlawn  Cemetery        .  321 

Mount  Saint  Vincent  de  Paul,  Font  Hill,  or  "Forrest's 
Castle"  326 

Looking  from  Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck  toward  the  Hudson  326 

The  Berrien  Homestead  on  Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck       .  327 

Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck  from  near  the  Station        .       .  327 

Henry  Hudson  Monument,  Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck.  Mr. 
Muschenheim's  residence  is  on  the  left,  and  under  the 


xvi  Illustrations 

PAGE 

first  second-story  window  on  the  porch  side  is  the 
bronze  tablet  marking  the  site  of  Fort  Number  One  332 
Courtesy  of  William  C.  Muschenheim,  Esq. 

Statue  of  Henry  Hudson  by  Karl  Bitter       .       .       .  333 

A  View  of  the  King's  Bridge  -  Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck  in 
the  Background         .......  336 

The  Godwin,  formerly  the  Macomb  House,  Kingsbridge  336 

The  Montgomery  House  on  Fort  Independence  Street. 
Home  of  Captain  Richard  Montgomery,  later,  Major- 
General  in  the  Continental  Army. — Kingsbridge       .  340 

The  Former  Residence  of  the  Late  William  Ogden  Giles. 
The  Terraces  Are  the  Ramparts  of  Fort  Independence, 
Kingsbridge  340 

Webb's  Shipbuilding  Academy  and  Home,  Fordham 
Heights      .       .  344 

The  Burial  Ground  of  the  Old  Dutch  Church,  formerly 
at  Sedgwick  Avenue  and  Fordham  Road  .       .       .  344 

The  Library  and  Hall  of  Fame,  New  York  University    .  346 

Boulder  Marking  the  Site  of  Fort  Number  Eight  on 
the  Property  of  the  New  York  University,  Fordham 


Heights   346 

The  Archer  House,  or  De  Lancey  Headquarters,  which 
formerly  Stood  near  the  Junction  of  Sedgwick  and 
Burn  side  Avenues      .  347 

Fordham  University  347 


Gouverneur  Morris  before  the  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion at  Philadelphia,  1787  ......  360 

After  the  painting  by  E.  W.  Deming,  in  the  Morris  High  iSchool. 
Courtesy  of  Mr.  C.  B.  J.  Snyder. 


Illustrations 


xvii 


The  Gouverneur  Morris  Mansion.  View  from  the  Bronx 
Kills  Side  364 

Buildings  on  Randall's  Island  364 

Morrisania,  about  1861,  160th  Street  at  the  Junction  of 
Brook  and  Third  Avenues  ......  365 

From  an  old  print  in  the  Collection  of  J.  Clarence  Davies,  Esq. 

The  Mott  Haven  Canal  365 

The  Lorelei  Fountain,  or  Heinrich  Heine  Monument, 
Mott  Avenue  and  East  161  st  Street,  at  the  Beginning 
of  the  Concourse  372 

The  Cromwell  House,  near  Jerome  Avenue,  above 
Central  Bridge  372 

Bronx  Borough  Hall  Decorated  for  the  Hudson-Fulton 

Celebration,  1909       .   376 

Photograph  by  Joseph  F.  Hefele. 

De  Lancey  Mills  and  Mansion,  Westchester        .  -377 
Redrawn  by  W.  J.  Wilson  from  Bolton's  History  of  Westchester 
County. 

The  Grave  of  Joseph  Rodman  Drake,  Hunt's  Point     .  382 

The  Hunt  House  (1688),  or  the  "Grange,"  the  Resi- 
dence of  Joseph  Rodman  Drake,  Hunt's  Point         .  382 


The  De  Lancey  Pine  ..... 
The  Soldiers'  Monument  at  West  Farms 
The  Causeway  and  Bridge,  Westchester 
Looking  across  the  Creek  (1903),  Westchester 
The  Sydney  Bowne  Store  (1903),  Westchester 


392 
392 
398 
398 
399 


The  Westchester  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Walker 
Avenue      .........  399 


xviii  Illustrations 

PAGE 

"The  Black  Rock  "  on  Cornell's  Neck  .       .       .  .402 

Near  the  Mouth  of  Pugsley's  Creek      ....  402 

The  Wilkins  Mansion  from  Clason's  Point    .       .       .  408 

Ferris  Grange  (1687)  on  Ferris  Avenue,  or  Old  Ferry 
Lane,  1903 — Throgg's  Neck  408 

The  "Spy  Oak  "  on  the  Pelham  Road,  Throgg's  Neck  .  412 

Fort  Schuyler,  from  the  Wharf  412 

Cedar  of  Lebanon,  Huntington  Estate,  Throgg's  Neck  416 

John  Williams's  House,  Williamsbridge,  Built  about 
1755.    Removed  in  1903  417 

The  Husted  House,  221st  Street  near  White  Plains  Road. 
Rear  View. — Williamsbridge  417 

The  Home  of  the  Pattis  in  Wakefield    ....  420 
Sketch  by  W.  J.  Wilson,  1885. 

The  Entrance  to  the  Penfield  Estate  on  the  White 

Plains  Road  420 

Sketch  by  W.  J.  Wilson,  1885. 

Seton's  Falls,  Eastchester  421 

On  the  Boston  Road,  Eastchester,  "15  Miles  to  New 
York"       .       .  421 

Reid's  Mill,  Eastchester  424 

From  a  water-color  by  Mrs.  Lascelles. 

The.  Old  House  near  Reid's  Mill,  about  1665-1670, 

Eastchester  424 

The  Gate  at  the  Entrance  to  the  Vincent-Halsey  Place, 
Eastchester  425 


Illustrations 


xix 


PAGE 

The  Vincent-Halsey  House,  for  Several  Months  the 
Executive  Mansion  of  President  John  Adams,  East- 
chester  425 

The  Marshall  House  on  Rodman's  Neck,  the  type  of 
Mansion  Erected  in  this  Section  before  1850     .       .  426 

E.  C.  Cooper's  Plan  of  Salt  Works  at  City  Island  (1835)  426 
From  an  old  print  in  the  New  York  Historical  Society. 

The  Old  City  Island  Bridge  427 

Courtesy  of  the  Department  of  Bridges,  New  York  City. 

The  New  City  Island  Bridge  427 

Courtesy  of  the  Department  of  Bridges,  New  York  City. 

The  "  Macedonian  Hotel,"  City  Island        .       .       .  430 

Map  of  Bronx  Borough  At  End 


The  Story  of  the 
Borough  of  The  Bronx 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  POLITICAL  FORMATION  OF  THE  BOROUGH,  AND  ITS 
TOPOGRAPHY 

1"^\HE  city  of  New  York  is  divided  for  administrative 


purposes  into  five  boroughs :  Manhattan,  the  original 


city  of  New  York  upon  the  island  of  Manhattan; 
Brooklyn,  the  old  city  of  that  name  in  the  county  of  Kings; 
Queens,  in  the  county  of  the  same  name,  adjoining  Brooklyn; 
Richmond,  or  Staten  Island;  The  Bronx,  the  Borough  lying 
north  of  the  Harlem  River. 

November  i,  1683,  the  county  of  Westchester  was  formed. 
Its  western  boundary  was  the  Hudson  River;  its  northern, 
Dutchess  (now  Putnam)  County ;  its  eastern,  the  Connecticut 
Colony  and  Long  Island  Sound;  its  southern,  the  East  and 
Harlem  rivers  and  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek.  The  Borough 
of  The  Bronx  was  included  within  the  county  of  Westchester 
until  1874  f°r  the  western  part  of  the  Borough,  and  until 
1895  for  the  eastern  part.    Its  history  is  until  these  dates  that 


2 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


of  the  county.  The  county  also  included  the  islands  contigu- 
ous to  its  shores. 

By  act  of  the  State  Legislature,  March  7,  1788,  all  the 
counties  were  divided  into  townships.  There  were  twenty-one 
of  these  in  Westchester  County,  following  very  closely  the 
lines  of  the  ancient  manors  and  patents.  The  section  under 
consideration  was  formerly  within  the  towns  of  Yonkers, 
Morrisania,  Eastchester,  Pelham,  and  Westchester. 

Yonkers  was  a  part  of  the  Philipsburgh  Manor,  sequestrated 
by  the  State  in  1779,  on  account  of  the  disloyalty  of  its-owner, 
Colonel  Frederick  Philipse.  The  part  of  the  township  within 
the  Borough  was  known  as  Lower  Yonkers;  and  it  remained 
a  part  of  the  original  township  until  June  1,  1872,  when  the 
city  of  Yonkers  was  incorporated.  At  the  same  time,  the  por- 
tion of  the  township  lying  south  of  a  line  drawn  from  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  land  belonging  to  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
known  as  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  due  east  to  the  Bronx  River, 
was  set  off  as  a  new  township  under  the  name  of  Kingsbridge. 
It  remained  a  part  of  the  Yonkers  township  until  December 
sixteenth  of  the  same  year,  when  the  selection  of  town  officers 
was  perfected.  Its  northern  boundary  was  the  line  given" 
above,  from  the  Hudson  River  to  the  Bronx;  its  southern, 
the  northern  line  of  the  ancient  manor  of  Fordham,  from  the 
Harlem  River  at  East  230th  Street  to  a  point  on  the  Bronx 
River  between  First  and  Second  avenues,  Williamsbridge, 
and  Spuy ten  Duyvil  Creek ;  its  western,  the  Hudson  River. 

Morrisania  was  the  most  sparsely  settled  section  of  the 
whole  county1;  and  why  it  should  have  been  made  into  a 

1  By  the  National  Census  of  1 790,  the  names  of  thirteen  heads  of  families 
are  given,  with  one  hundred  and  three  free  persons  and  thirty  slaves,  of 
whom  seventeen  belonged  to  Lewis  Morris,  the  manor-lord,  and  five  to 
James  Graham. 


Southern  Part  of  the  Township  of  Yonkers,  1867,  Made  into  the  Township  of  Kingsbridge,  i874r 

and  Part  of  the  Annexed  District,  1875. 


Political  Formation  and  Topography  3 


township  is  not  clear,  unless  it  was  by  reason  of  the  influ- 
ence and  prominence  of  its  owner,  Lewis  Morris,  the  signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The  new  Constitutional 
government  had  gone  into  effect  in  New  York  in  1789,  but 
the  site  of  the  permanent  capital  of  the  nation  was  a  matter 
of  considerable  discussion.  Morris  believed  his  manor  to 
be  an  ideal  spot  for  it;  hence,  its  formation  into  a  township. 
On  October  1,  1790,  the  Congress  in  session  at  New  York 
was  to  determine  the  location  of  the  new  capital,  and  Morris 
memorialized  it  in  favor  of  Morrisania. 
He  states: 

"that  the  said  manor  is  more  advantageously  situated  for 
their  [Congress's]  residence  than  any  other  place  that  has 
hitherto  been  proposed  to  them,  and  much  better  accom- 
modated with  the  necessary  requisites  of  convenience  of 
access,  health,  and  security";  "that  vessels  from  the  four 
Eastern  States  may  arrive  at  Morrisania  through  the  Sound, 
in  the  course  of  a  few  hours,  and  that  ships  from  the  Carolinas 
and  Georgia  may  perform  voyages  to  Morrisania  with  much 
more  safety  and  dispatch  than  they  can  to  the  ports  of  Phila- 
delphia and  Annapolis,  not  being  incommoded  with  tedious 
passages  of  two  hundred  miles  each  up  Bays  and  Rivers  which 
often  consume  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks — passages  rendered 
hazardous  by  rocks  and  shoals,  and  annually  obstructed  by 
ice";  "that  Morrisania  is  so  situated  that  vessels  may  arrive 
from,  or  proceed  to  sea,  sometimes  in  six  hours  .  .  .  and  that 
this  passage,  from  the  quantity  and  saltness  of  the  water,  has 
never  been  totally  impeded  by  ice";  "that  Morrisania  has 
always  been  noted  for  this  particular  [health  and  salubrity], 
that  the  fever  and  ague  is  unknown,  and  that  persons  from 
other  places,  emaciated  by  sickness  and  disease,  there  shortly 
recover  and  are  speedily  reinforced  in  health  and  vigor"; 
and  further,  "that  Morrisania  is  perfectly  secure  from  any 
dangers  either  from  foreign  invasion  or  internal  insurrection"; 


4 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


"that  Morrisania  being  distant  only  twenty  miles  from  the 
State  of  Connecticut,  and  eight  miles  from  the  City  of  New 
York,  that  it  therefore  can  be  amply  protected  by  the  hardy 
sons  of  New  England  on  the  one  side  and  the  inhabitants  of 
the  populous  City  of  New  York  on  the  other ;  that  as  the  chief 
defence  of  this  country  in  future  must  be  by  its  militia  .  .  . 
there  are  more  fighting  men  within  a  sweep  of  thirty  miles 
around  Morrisania  than  perhaps  within  the  same  distance 
around  any  other  place  in  America,  as  there  are  many  popu- 
lous places  which  contain  large  proportions  of  inhabitants 
who  are  principled  by  religion  against  bearing  arms, 1  and  other 
places  which  contain  negro  inhabitants  who  not  only  do  not 
fight  themselves,  but  by  keeping  their  masters  at  home, 
prevent  them  from  fighting  also.  "2 

As  a  real-estate  broker,  Morris  was  not  a  success,  and  the 
capital  went  to  the  banks  of  the  Potomac;  while  by  act  of 
the  Legislature  of  February  2,  1791,  Morrisania  ceased  to  be  a 
separate  township  and  became  a  part  of  the  township  of  West- 
chester, and  later,  of  West  Farms ;  it  remained  so  until  Decem- 
ber 7,  1855,  when  it  again  became  a  separate  township. 
Previous  to  1848,  there  were  few  settlers;  but  the  revolutions 
that  occurred  in  Europe  at  that  time  sent  a  stream  of  immi- 
grants to  the  land  of  liberty;  and  many  of  them  settled  in 
Morrisania,  converting  its  fields  and  farms  into  thriving, 
active  villages,  and  giving  it  that  Teutonic  appearance  of 
names  and  occupations  which  it  maintained  for  forty  years 
afterwards,  and  which  has  not  yet  wholly  disappeared  under 
the  later  Celtic,  Italian,  and  Semitic  invasions. 

The  bounds  of  the  township  at  both  creations,  1788  and 

'Friends,  or  Quakers. 

2  This  was  probably  the  belief  of  the  slaveholders  themselves.  That  it 
had  but  little  basis  in  fact  is  shown  during  the  Civil  War  by  the  loyalty 
of  the  southern  slaves  during  the  absences  of  their  masters  from  1861 
to  1865. 


Map  of  Morrisania  and  West  Farms. 


Political  Formation  and  Topography  5 


1855,  were  the  same  as  those  of  the  ancient  manor.  The 
northerly  line,  which  was  also  the  southerly  line  of  Fordham 
Manor,  began  at  the  Harlem  River  immediately  south  of  the 
present  High  Bridge,  and  extended  east  to  Union  Avenue 
between  East  170th  and  171st  streets;  its  eastern  boundary 
was  practically  Union  Avenue  to  Bungay  Creek  (Intervale 
Avenue) ,  which  it  followed  to  the  East  River ;  its  other  boun- 
daries were  the  East  River,  Bronx  Kills,  and  Harlem  River. 

The  township  of  Eastchester  (1788)  had  for  its  western 
boundary  the  Bronx  River;  on  the  north,  Scarsdale;  on  the 
east,  Hutchinson's  River;  on  the  south,  Black  Dog  Brook  and 
a  line  drawn  from  the  head  of  the  brook  on  the  line  of  229th 
Street  to  the  Bronx  River.  When  the  city  of  Mount  Vernon 
was  incorporated  in  1892,  the  township  of  Eastchester  was 
divided  into  two  parts,  entirely  separated  from  each  other  by 
the  newly  formed,  intervening  city.  The  southern  piece  was 
the  smaller ;  and  when  the  question  of  annexation  was  submit- 
ted to  the  people  in  1894,  the  inhabitants  voted  to  be  taken 
into  the  city  of  New  York. 

Pelham  township  was  what  remained  of  Pelham  Manor; 
it  was  triangular  in  form,  New  Rochelle  being  its  base  or 
northerly  line,  and  the  two  sides  being  the  Sound  and  Hut- 
chinson's River.  It  also  included  Hunter,  Twin,  Hart,  High, 
and  City  islands.  The  portion  taken  for  the  city  of  New 
York  is  almost  entirely  within  Pelham  Bay  Park.  The  part 
annexed  to  New  York  was  the  ancient  Annes  Hoeck,  or 
Pell's  Neck,  and  Rodman's  Neck,  as  well  as  the  islands  men- 
tioned above. 

The  township  of  Westchester  (1788)  included  all  the  rest 
of  the  land  now  within  the  limits  of  the  Borough;  the  ancient 
manor  of  Fordham,  the  West  Farms  tract,  and  all  the  land  be- 
tween the  Hutchinson  River,  the  Bronx  River,  and  the  Sound, 


6 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


with  a  northerly  boundary  at  the  Eastchester  line  from  Black 
Dog  Brook  to  the  Bronx  River.  This  included  about  one 
half  the  Borough.  The  town  was  further  increased  by  the 
accession  of  Morrisania,  February  22,  179 1.  It  remained 
intact  until  May  13,  1846,  when  the  township  of  West  Farms 
was  formed  out  of  its  territory. 

West  Farms  (1846)  comprised  all  the  land  west  of  the  Bronx 
River  as  far  as  the  Harlem  River,  lying  south  of  Yonkers, 
until  December  7,  1855,  when  the  township  of  Morrisania  was 
once  more  formed  from  its  territory.  It  thus  included  the 
manors  of  Morrisania  and  Fordham  and  the  West  Farms 
patent  of  1663. 

The  annexation  of  a  part  of  Westchester  County  to  the  city 
of  New  York  was  a  question  that  arose  long  before  any  formal 
action  was  taken  by  the  authorities.  As  early  as  1864,  it 
was  proposed  to  unite  the  townships  of  Morrisania  and  West 
Farms  under  a  special  city  charter;  but  the  objections  of  the 
inhabitants  of  West  Farms  defeated  the  project.  In  1869, 
one  of  the  Tweed  members  of  the  Legislature  from  Mount 
Vernon  proposed  the  annexation  of  a  large  portion  of  the^ 
county  to  the  city;  but  as  the  action  was  taken  without  any 
reference  to  the  wishes  of  the  inhabitants  or  their  immediate 
representative,  Senator  Cauldwell,  he  arose  in  his  place  and 
announced  that,  in  a  few  days,  he  would  introduce  a  bill 
"to  annex  the  city  of  New  York  to  Morrisania,"  a  piece  of 
sarcasm  which  defeated  the  movement  at  that  time.  Yet 
Senator  Cauldwell  was,  later,  one  of  the  foremost  in  advocating 
annexation  and  in  bringing  it  about. 

In  the  autumn  of  1872,  the  people  of  West  Farms  and  Mor- 
risania came  together;  and  the  following  year,  the  bill  referring 
the  question  of  annexation  to  the  people  was  enacted.  Owing 
to  disputes  among  the  officials,  the  bill  provided  that  the 


Map  of  the  Township  of  Westchester,  1867. 


Southern  Part  of  the  Township  of  Pelham,  1867,  Annexed  in  1895. 


Political  Formation  and  Topography  7 


streets  should  be  placed  under  the  Park  Department,  a  scheme 
that  worked  more  harm  than  good  to  the  newly  annexed 
district  until  the  streets  were  put  under  a  special  Department 
of  Street  Improvements  of  the  Twenty-third  and  Twenty- 
fourth  wards,  January  1,  1891. 

On  January  1,  1874,  by  act  °f  the  Legislature  mentioned 
above,  the  townships  of  Kingsbridge,  West  Farms,  and  Mor- 
risania  became  a  part  of  the  (old)  city  of  New  York,  and  were 
formed  into  the  Twenty- third  and  Twenty-fourth  wards. 
The  new  wards  were  also  spoken  of  as  the  Annexed  District ; 
they  constitute  that  part  of  the  Borough  lying  west  of  the 
Bronx  River  and  comprise  12,317  acres. 

At  the  election  of  November  6,  1894,  the  question  of  the 
Greater  New  York  was  submitted  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
localities  affected,  including  Westchester,  Eastchester,  Pel- 
ham,  and  the  city  of  Mount  Vernon.  The  result  of  the  referen- 
dum showed  good  majorities  for  annexation  in  Eastchester 
and  Pelham,  while  Mount  Vernon  and  Westchester  voted 
against,  the  former  by  a  large  majority,  and  the  latter  by  a 
majority  of  one.  The  adverse  majority  in  Westchester  was 
so  small  that  it  was  ignored  by  the  annexationists;  and  July 
1,  1895,  the  whole  section  east  of  the  Bronx  River  became  a 
part  of  the  city  of  New  York,  forming  part  of  the  Twenty- 
fourth  Ward.  It  comprises  nearly  14,000  acres,  making  the 
total  area  taken  from  Westchester  County  by  the  two  annexa- 
tions 26,017  acres,  or  about  39 \  square  miles. 

January  1,  1898,  the  charter  of  the  Greater  New  York  went 
into  effect,  and  the  whole  annexed  section  north  of  the  Harlem 
River  became  officially  known  as  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx,  1 

1  The  question  is  often  asked:  "Why  the  Borough  of  The  Bronx?" 
For  the  same  reason  that  we  speak  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the  valley 
of  the  Hudson,  etc. — all  taking  their  names  from  rivers,  to  which  it  is 
customary  to  prefix  the  article. 


8 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


though  united  in  educational  and  some  other  official  matters 
with  the  Borough  of  Manhattan. 

January  I,  1902,  the  revised  charter  of  the  Greater  New 
York  went  into  effect.  It  gives  a  certain  amount  of  autonomy 
to  the  different  boroughs,  especially  in  the  matter  of  local 
improvements,  though  many  acts  of  the  local  boards  are 
subject  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  or  Board  of  Estimate  and 
Apportionment,  or  both,  when  the  outlay  authorized  by  the 
local  board  exceeds  two  thousand  dollars.  The  local  boards 
of  The  Bronx  are  composed  of  the  Borough  president  and 
the  aldermen  of  the  local  improvement  districts.  There 
are  four  such  districts  in  the  Borough;  the  Twenty- 
second,  or  Morrisania ;  the  Twenty-third,  or  Chester;  the 
Twenty-fourth,  or  Crotona;  and  the  Twenty-fifth,  or  Van 
Courtlandt. 

When  the  two  annexations  took  place,  the  sections  ceased 
to  be  parts  of  Westchester  County  and  became  parts  of  New 
York  County.  In  the  matter  of  congressional,  senate,  as- 
sembly, and  judicial  representation,  however,  portions  of  the 
Borough  were  at  first  attached  to  Westchester  County; 
though  there  is  now  separation.  The  Borough  constitutes 
the  eighteenth  congressional  district ;  but  on  the  basis  of  popu- 
lation as  shown  by  the  last  Federal  Census,  it  is  entitled  to 
two  congressmen.  There  are  eight  aldermanic  districts, 
and  four  local  school  districts,  each  having  its  own  board. 
The  Borough  is  allowed  two  municipal  courts  where  civil 
cases  may  be  tried  in  which  the  value  in  controversy  does  not 
exceed  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  There  are  also  two 
police  magistrate's  courts  for  the  settlement  of  minor  cases  of 
crimes  and  misdemeanors  and  for  preliminary  hearings  in 
cases  of  felony.  For  police  protection,  the  Borough  is  divided 
into  nine  precincts  with  756  men.    For  protection  from  fire, 


Political  Formation  and  Topography 


9 


there  are  twenty  engines  and  nine  hook  and  ladder  trucks, 
while  in  the  Harlem  River  is  stationed  a  fire  tug.  There  are 
fifty  public  elementary  schools  and  the  Gouverneur  Morris 
High  School  on  the  Boston  Road,  while,  owing  to  the  rapidly 
increasing  population,  new  sites  are  being  selected  and  build- 
ings erected,  though  not  half  fast  enough  to  keep  up  with  the 
growth  of  school  population.  Most  of  these  school  buildings 
are  modern  in  every  respect;  and  while  built  for  utilitarian 
purposes,  the  aesthetic  side  has  not  been  neglected;  and,  as 
the  sites  are  often  on  high  ground,  these  fine  examples  of 
school  architecture  tower  above  their  neighbors  and  attract 
the  attention  of  the  wayfarer. 

Many  of  the  natural  features  of  the  Borough  are  rapidly 
disappearing  before  the  march  of  modern  improvements; 
and  the  authorities  are  filling  in  creeks,  swamps,  and  lowlands, 
laying  out  and  grading  streets,  and  establishing  water  mains 
and  sewers  for  the  immense  population  of  the  future.  In  the 
spring  of  1903,  a  plan  of  opening  and  grading  420  miles  of 
streets  in  the  district  east  of  the  Bronx  River  was  submitted 
to  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  approved  by  them  on  May  29, 
1903.  In  this  plan,  ample  provision  is  made  for  several  small 
parks  and  for  a  larger  one  at  Seton's  Falls;  but  little  or  no 
attention  is  paid  to  the  preservation  of  old  landmarks,  except 
in  the  way  of  some  of  the  more  prominent  of  the  ancient 
highways. 

By  the  Federal  Census  of  1900,  the  Borough  had  a  popula- 
tion of  200,507;  and  by  the  Census  of  1910,  a  population  of 
430,980,  an  increase  of  nearly  115  per  cent.,  more  than  that 
of  any  other  borough  of  the  city.  The  great  increase  in 
population  and  the  consequent  erection  of  buildings  to  accom- 
modate the  inhabitants,  with  the  transfers  of  property  and 
other  matters  of  record  in  relation  to  real  estate,  became  so 


10 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


great  in  volume  that,  on  April  28,  1903,  a  committee  was 
appointed  by  the  North  Side  Board  of  Trade  to  bring  before 
the  State  Legislature  the  formation  of  a  new  county  to  be  called 
Bronx  County.  In  January  following,  a  bill  to  form  such  a 
county  was  introduced,  but  it  failed  to  pass.  It  was  intro- 
duced in  every  subsequent  Legislature,  but  it  was  defeated,  so 
it  is  stated,  because,  if  such  a  county  were  created,  Tammany 
and  the  other  political  machines  would  lose  their  power  in 
the  Borough.  Extraordinary  meetings  and  agitations  took 
place  in  the  autumn  of  191 1 ,  with  the  result  that  an  act  passed 
by  the  Legislature  of  1 912  authorizes  the  formation  of  Bronx 
County,  the  matter  to  be  decided  by  a  referendum  to  the  voters 
of  the  Borough  at  the  election  of  November,  1912.1 

The  construction  and  opening  of  the  subway  in  1904  caused 
a  great  boom  in  real  estate ;  and  the  operations  have  run  into 
many  millions  of  dollars,  as  many  farm  lands  and  estates  have 
been  brought  into  the  market  and  have  found  ready  purchasers 
for  actual  building. 

On  January  16,  1904,  the  Bronx  Free  Library,  which  had 
been  in  existence  for  several  years,  surrendered  its  separate 
existence  to  the  New  York  Library,  and  thus  brought  itself 
within  the  scope  of  the  Carnegie  Library  Fund ;  and,  in  conse- 
quence, the  corner-stone  of  a  new  building  was  laid  on  January 
21,  1904,  at  Washington  Avenue  and  East  176th  Street. 
Other  branches  of  the  New  York  Public  Library  are  located 
in  Morrisania,  Mott  Haven,  Highbridgeville,  and  Kingsbridge. 

1  The  author  is  not  a  believer  in  the  idea  that  you  can  make  people  rich 
by  taking  money  away  from  them;  and  he  thinks  that,  if  the  new  county 
be  formed,  it  will  be  due  to  local  pride,  and  to  the  active  efforts  of  an 
energetic  minority  of  contractors  and  politicians,  whose  eyes  are  fastened 
upon  the  annual  expenditure  of  several  millions  (to  be  taken  from  the 
taxpayers)  for  the  salaries  of  county  officials  and  the  erection  of  county 
buildings. 


Political  Formation  and  Topography  n 


The  only  regular  military  organization  in  the  Borough  is 
the  Second  Battery  of  the  State  National  Guard,  which 
prides  itself  on  being  the  pioneer  company  of  the  Borough. 
It  was  organized  February  4,  1833,  in  the  city  of  New  York 
and  moved  to  temporary  quarters  on  Bathgate  Avenue  near 
East  177th  Street  on  October  25,  1902.  It  occupied  its  new 
armory  on  Franklin  Avenue  and  East  166th  Street  on  June  1, 
1 910.  The  ground  and  building  cost  #57,200.  The  battery, 
which  is  now  officially  Battery  A,  First  Battalion,  Field 
Artillery,  N.  G.,  N.  Y.,  consists  of  six  officers  and  one  hundred 
and  eleven  men.  The  battery  is  equipped  with  four  three- 
inch  breech-loading  field  guns,  four  Colt  rapid-firing  guns,  and 
four  Gatling  guns.  In  addition,  there  are  forty-four  horses, 
the  property  of  the  battery,  and  the  necessary  equipment 
of  harness,  small  arms,  caissons,  etc. 

One  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  development  of 
the  Borough  on  its  commercial  and  sociological  sides  has  been 
the  North  Side  Board  of  Trade.  This  is  composed  of  the 
leading  business  and  professional  men  of  the  Borough,  and 
those  having  business  or  other  interests  there.  The  society 
was  organized  March  6,  1894;  and  since  that  time  it  has  been 
untiring  in  its  efforts  to  arouse  a  proper  public  spirit  and  pride 
in  the  Borough  and  in  disseminating  information  about  it, 
so  as  to  attract  manufacturing  and  other  enterprises  arid  a 
superior  class  of  residents.  That  this  has  been  successfully 
done  is  shown  in  the  large  number  of  commercial  enter- 
prises, the  increase  in  traffic  facilities,  and  the  doubling 
of  the  population  within  the  last  decade.  On  Saturday, 
October  28,  191 1,  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  North  Side 
Board  of  Trade  building  was  laid  by  Mayor  Gaynor  with 
appropriate  ceremonies.  The  building  is  located  at  Third 
and  Lincoln  avenues  and  East  137th  Street.     When  fin- 


12 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


ished,  it  will  be  one  of  the  most  beautiful  buildings  in  the 
Borough. 

Two  other  organizations,  the  Bronx  Society  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  founded  in  1904,  and  the  Bronx  Beautiful  Society, 
founded  in  January,  19 12,  have  been  established  for  the 
development  of  the  Borough  on  its  intellectual  and  aesthetic 
sides. 

Besides  the  Seton  Hospital  and  the  Home  for  Incurables, 
mentioned  elsewhere,  there  are  six  ,  great  hospitals  within 
the  Borough.  Fordham  Hospital,  under  the  Department  of 
Charities,  was  established  in  1882  at  Valentine  Avenue  and 
1 88th  Street,  whence  it  removed  to  the  old  Eden  mansion  at 
Aqueduct  Avenue  and  190th  Street.  Since  May  1,  1907,  it 
has  occupied  the  new  building  at  Crotona  Avenue  and  South- 
ern Boulevard,  not  far  from  the  Bronx  "Zoo,"  a  location 
which  will  always  be  of  the  best,  as  it  is  surrounded  by  open, 
public  park  spaces,  and  it  will  never  have  its  air  and  light  cut 
off,  nor  fail  to  receive  a  supply  of  clear,  pure  air.  Another 
city  hospital  is  Riverside,  situated  on  North  Brother  Island, 
where  contagious  and  infectious  diseases  are  taken  care  of. 
There  are  accommodations  for  five  hundred  patients. 

Lincoln  Hospital  is  situated  at  East  141st  Street  and 
Southern  Boulevard.  It  was  originally  incorporated  in  1845 
under  the  name  of  the  Colored  Home,  and  was  located  at 
65th  Street  and  First  Avenue,  Manhattan,  until  September  7, 
1898,  when  it  was  moved  to  its  present  site  into  the  new 
buildings  especially  erected.  The  name  was  changed  to 
Lincoln  Hospital  and  Home  in  i860.  No  color  line  is  drawn 
in  the  hospital  service,  but  the  training  school  for  nurses 
attached  to  the  institution  is  restricted  to  colored  women. 
The  institution  is  maintained  principally  by  subscriptions 
and  donations,  though  it  also  receives  aid  from  the  city. 


Political  Formation  and  Topography  13 


Lebanon  Hospital,  located  at  Cauldwell  and  Westchester 
avenues,  upon  the  site  formerly  occupied  by  the  Ursuline 
Convent,  was  incorporated  by  a  number  of  Jewish  citizens  in 
1890.  The  present  building  was  occupied  in  1892;  and  there 
are  two  hundred  and  fifty  beds,  four  ambulances,  and  a  full 
complement  of  surgeons  and  nurses.  From  its  central  location 
in  a  thickly  settled  neighborhood,  it  is  probably  the  busiest 
of  the  Bronx  hospitals,  as  it  makes  no  distinction  as  to  religion 
in  its  services.  Its  name  is  almost  invariably  mispronounced, 
and  it  is  called  Le-ban-on  by  the  people  of  the  vicinity.  It 
is  supported  by  subscriptions  and  donations,  and  also  by  help 
from  the  city. 

St.  Francis's  Hospital  is  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Poor 
of  St.  Francis,  and  is  situated  between  Brook  and  St.  Ann's 
avenues  and  14.26.  and  143d  streets.  It  has  been  located 
here  since  1906,  and  is  a  splendid  up-to-date  institution  with 
over  four  hundred  beds.  It  treats  patients  of  every  and  all 
creeds,  colors,  and  nationalities;  and  for  its  treatment  of  non- 
paying  poor,  it  receives  pay  from  the  city. 

St.  Joseph's  Hospital,  under  Sisters  of  the  same  order,  is 
situated  on  the  block  above  St.  Francis's;  but  its  doors,  while 
open  to  all  creeds  and  nationalities,  are  closed  to  all  cases 
except  those  of  consumption,  all  stages  of  which  are  taken  care 
of.  There  are  five  hundred  beds,  over  four  hundred  of  which 
are  free  to  the  poor,  of  whom  there  were  21 11  treated  from 
October  1,  19 10  to  September  30,  191 1.  The  hospital  was 
opened  here  on  January  1,  1889;  and  it  is  maintained  by 
private  subscriptions  and  donations,  though  the  city  helps 
for  the  care  of  poor  patients. 

Union  Hospital  was  started  in  the  spring  of  191 1  for  the 
treatment  of  all  ailments,  and  for  general  hospital  work.  It 
occupies  the  Eden  mansion,  the  former  home  of  Fordham 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Hospital.    It  is  backed  by  the  Episcopal  Church  and  by  a 
number  of  the  leading  physicians  of  the  Borough. 

The  surface  of  the  Borough  is  such  as  to  present  all  varieties 
of  scenery ;  and  in  its  wild  state  it  must  have  shown  scenes  of 
surpassing  rural  and  sylvan  beauty.  In  fact,  even  to-day, 
one  is  pleased  with  the  vistas  of  hills  and  streams  in  the  more 
sparsely  settled  parts. 

The  elevated  portions  of  the  Borough  are  continuations  of 
the  ranges  of  hills  of  Westchester  County  and,  speaking  gener- 
ally, run  north  and  south,  parallel  to  the  Hudson.  The  val- 
leys between  are  occupied  by  streams  flowing  to  the  southward 
and  are  comparatively  level,  so  that  they  became  the  way  of 
the  earlier  roads,  and  later,  of  the  railroads.  These  elevations 
rise  to  a  height  of  two  hundred  feet  in  many  places,  and  do 
not  fall  below  a  hundred,  except  in  the  slopes  to  the  valleys. 
The  westernmost  ridge  extends  from  Yonkers  to  Spuyten 
Duyvil  Creek  through  Mount  St.  Vincent,  Riverdale,  and 
Hudson  Park.  In  Riverdale  is  the  highest  elevation  in  the 
Borough,  282  feet.  This  ridge  has  a  sharp  descent  to  the  ' 
Hudson,  and  presents  a  bold  frontage  when  viewed  from  that 
stream.  The  streams  emptying  into  the  Hudson  are  few  and 
short;  the  longest  being  Dogwood  Brook  near  West  247th 
Street.  On  the  east,  the  slope  is  almost  equally  abrupt  to 
the  valley  of  Tippett's  Brook.  The  lower  part  of  this  valley 
is  flat,  meadow  land,  reaching,  in  places,  over  half  a  mile  in 
width.  At  its  southern  end  is  a  rocky  islet  in  this  sea  of 
meadow,  upon  which  the  principal  part  of  the  former  village 
of  Kingsbridge  is  situated ;  in  ancient  times,  it  was  the  core  of 
the  island  of  Paparinemo,  or  Paparinemin. 

The  second  ridge  extends  from  the  Yonkers  line  to  Central 
Bridge,  and  is  the  dividing  line  between  Tippett's  Brook  and 


Political  Formation  and  Topography  15 


the  Harlem  River  on  the  west  and  the  Bronx  River,  Cromwell's 
Creek,  and  Mill  Brook  on  the  east.  It  presents  a  bold  front 
to  the  Harlem  River  all  the  way  from  Kingsbridge  to  Central 
Bridge.  Its  southern  terminus  is  known  as  Devoe's  Point, 
after  one  of  the  earlier  proprietors,  a  descendant  of  the  original 
patentee,  Daniel  Turneur.  This  ridge  is  known  as  the  Ford- 
ham  Ridge;  its  northern  portion  is  called  Woodlawn  Heights. 
Several  brooks  find  their  way  down  the  easterly  slope  into  the 
Bronx  River.  The  valley  between  Fordham  Ridge  and  the 
ridge  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  Bronx  valley  is  wide  at  its 
southern  part,  allowing  of  several  minor  ridges  forming  the 
valley  of  Mill  Brook. 

The  ridge  forming  the  eastern  side  of  the  Bronx  valley  has 
a  considerable  elevation  at  Wakefield  and  Williamsbridge,  but 
it  falls  away  gradually  toward  the  shores  of  the  East  River 
and  the  Sound,  so  that  they  present  in  general  the  appearance 
of  low,  salt  meadows,  which,  at  unusual  high  tides,  are  awash. 
Castle  Hill  Neck  below  Unionport  is  an  elevation  of  sixty  feet, 
separating  Pugsley's  and  Westchester  creeks.  To  the  east- 
ward of  Westchester  Creek  is  Throgg's  Neck,  which  does  not 
rise  higher  than  fifty  feet.  Before  the  Westchester  meadows 
were  filled  in,  Eastchester  Bay,  the  Sound,  and  Westchester 
Creek  virtually  used  to  make  an  island  of  Throgg's  Neck  at 
high  tides. 

Tippett's  Brook  has  its  rise  near  Valentine's  Hill  in  Yonkers 
and  empties  into  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  almost  equally 
dividing  the  former  township  of  Kingsbridge.  Its  Indian 
name  was  Mosholu.  Just  below  High  Bridge,  there  was 
formerly  a  small  stream  emptying  into  the  Harlem  River, 
which  constituted  the  northern  boundary  of  Turneur's  patent; 
it  has  disappeared  under  modern  improvements.  A  consider- 
able extent  of  wet  meadow  lines  the  shore  of  the  Harlem  River 


i6 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


below  the  Fordham  Ridge.  Below  High  Bridge,  this  meadow 
formerly  constituted  Crab,  or  "Crabbe, "  Island  of  the  ancient 
records.  Cromwell's  Creek  had  its  origin  about  East  178th 
Street  and  Jerome  Avenue  and  emptied  into  the  Harlem  River 
south  of  Central  Bridge,  but  the  stream  has  been  filled  in. 
Jerome  Avenue  follows  the  valley  of  the  old  stream  for  a 
considerable  distance. 

Mill  Brook  was  an  important  watercourse  in  former  days, 
and  it  about  equally  divided  the  ancient  manor  of  Morrisania. 
It  had  its  rise  near  East  170th  Street,  between  Claremont  and 
Crotona  parks,  and  emptied  into  the  East  River  near  the 
manor-house.  In  the  improvements  in  the  decade  before 
1900,  the  stream  disappeared  within  a  great  sewer  under 
Brook  Avenue,  which  follows  approximately  the  bed  of  the 
old  stream. 

Bungay  Creek  was  composed  of  two  branches  rising  in 
Crotona  Park  and  uniting  at  East  170th  Street,  whence  it 
flowed  into  the  East  River  above  Port  Morris.  Intervale 
Avenue  follows  very  closely  the  course  of  the  old  stream. 
From  its  crossing  at  Westchester  Avenue  to  the  river,  it  formed 
the  boundary  between  the  manor  of  Morrisania  and  the  West 
Farms  patent  of  Richardson  and  Jessup. 

The  next  stream  to  the  eastward  is  the  longest  and  most 
important  of  all — the  Bronx, — which  has  given  its  name  to 
the  Borough.  It  has  its  origin  in  the  distant  hills  of  North 
Castle  and  flows  into  the  East  River  after  a  course  of  more 
than  thirty  miles.  Its  Indian  name  was  Aquahung,  "a  high 
bluff  or  bank";  but  it  derives  its  present  name  from  the  first 
white  owner  of  the  soil,  Jonas  Bronk.  It  is  navigable  for 
small  vessels  for  about  three  miles  from  its  mouth.  It  was  a 
very  important  stream  during  the  Revolution  as,  during  the 
Westchester  campaign  of  1776,  it  constituted  a  barrier  between 


Political  Formation  and  Topography  17 

the  armies  of  Washington  and  Howe.  There  is  a  tradition 
that  Admiral  Lord  Howe  impressed  some  Americans  familiar 
with  the  locality  to  pilot  his  ships  up  the  Bronx  in  order  to 
bombard  Washington  out  of  his  entrenched  camps  on  the  west 
of  the  stream.  We  can  imagine  a  74-gun  ship-of-the-line 
attempting  to  sail  up  the  beautiful,  romantic,  but  shallow 
stream ! 

In  the  year  1798,  a  scourge  of  yellow  fever  visited  the  city 
of  New  York,  and,  after  its  subsidence,  the  question  was 
agitated  of  furnishing  the  inhabitants  with  an  abundant  supply 
of  pure,  fresh  water.  The  Bronx  seemed  to  the  authorities 
to  have  been  provided  by  nature  for  the  purpose,  and  an 
engineer  was  sent  to  survey  it  and  plan  for  its  use;  but  upon 
his  report  that  the  project  would  cost  the  city  $1,000,000, 
the  corporation  withdrew  on  account  of  the  expense.  Aaron 
Burr,  who  was  at  this  time,  1799,  forming  his  Manhattan 
Company,  also  probably  helped  them  to  an  adverse  decision 
by  holding  out  the  hope  of  supplying  the  city  with  water 
under  the  charter  of  his  company.  Until  the  Croton  River 
was  selected  as  the  source  of  New  York's  water  supply,  the 
Bronx  was  the  favorite  with  the  authorities  and  engineers, 
commending  itself  on  account  of  the  purity  of  its  waters,  its 
nearness  to  the  city,  the  feasibility  of  damming  its  waters 
at  Williamsbridge,  and,  especially,  on  the  score  of  economy. 
Its  waters  were  impounded  for  the  use  of  the  Annexed  District 
in  1888  by  building  a  dam  at  Kensico,  above  White  Plains. 

The  Bronx  of  to-day  still  retains  many  of  the  beauties  that 
inspired  the  pen  of  Drake;  but,  alas!  its  waters  are  no  longer 
pure  and  crystalline.  What  is  to  be  done  with  it  is  a  question 
that  has  been  discussed  between  the  engineers  of  New  York 
and  those  of  Westchester  County;  but  when  we  see  the  river 
converted  into  a  lake  after  a  spring  thaw  or  a  heavy  rain,  we 


i8 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


can  believe  the  engineers  have  a  problem  to  solve  much  more 
difficult  than  that  of  the  Mill  Brook  and  other  smaller  streams. 
The  Legislature  of  1907  directed  the  Governor  to  appoint  a 
commission  to  lay  out  a  parkway  along  the  entire  length  of 
the  river  from  Kensico  to  West  Farms  and  to  condemn  land 
for  the  same.  The  commission  was  appointed  in  July,  1907. 
If  the  proposed  plans  are  carried  out,  about  125  acres  will  be 
taken  in  the  Borough  and  about  900  in  Westchester  County, 
and  a  reservation  will  be  formed  varying  from  300  to  1000 
feet  on  both  sides  of  the  stream.  This  will  be  made  into  a 
public  park  and  drive.  The  primary  object  of  the  park  is 
to  prevent  further  pollution  of  the  river.  A  series  of  dams 
will  also  be  constructed,  with  the  purpose  of  making  the  stream 
navigable  for  small  boats  of  all  kinds  throughout  its  whole 
length. 

The  land  near  the  mouth  of  the  Bronx  and  beyond  is  low, 
salt  meadow,  interspersed  by  small  tidal  streams.  The  most 
important  of  these  is  Wilkins's,  or  Pugsley's,  Creek,  which 
forms  the  landward  boundary  of  Cornell's  Neck.  Between 
this  creek  and  Westchester  Creek  is  Castle  Hill  Neck,  so  called 
because  the  Weckquaesgeek  Indians  had  a  large  castle,  or 
stockade,  on  the  high  land  between  the  creeks.  On  the  south 
side  of  Throgg's  Neck  is  Baxter's  Creek,  and  on  the  north 
side,  Weir  Creek.  Throgg's  Neck  on  the  Borough  side,  and 
Willett's  Point  on  the  Long  Island,  or  Queen's  Borough, 
side  are  the  separating  points  between  the  East  River  and 
the  Sound. 

Eastchester  Bay  is  an  estuary  between  Throgg's  Neck  on 
the  south  and  City  Island  and  Rodman's  Neck  on  the  north. 
At  its  head,  Eastchester  Creek,  or  Hutchinson's  River, 
empties  after  its  course  of  eight  miles  from  Scarsdale.  The 
Indian  name  of  the  stream  was  Aqueannoncke,  or  Aque- 


Political  Formation  and  Topography  19 


anouncke,  a  variant  of  Aquahung.  Its  lower  portion  is  a 
tidal  stream,  whose  depth  and  course  have  been  changed  by 
the  Federal  Government,  so  that  it  is  navigable  to  the  city 
line.  Black  Dog  Brook,  the  former  Eastchester  boundary 
line,  flows  into  Eastchester  Creek  at  Bay  Chester,  while  a  short 
distance  above  is  Rattlesnake  Brook,  whose  mouth  is  called 
Mill  Creek,  from  the  old  tide  mill  (Reid's)  which  was  located 
there.  Between  Rodman's  Neck  and  Hunter  Island  is 
Pelham  Bay. 

The  islands  in  the  Borough  included  Paparinemo  and 
Crab,  both  of  which  have  disappeared.  Lying  in  the  East 
River,  a  short  distance  above  Port  Morris,  are  North  and 
South  Brother  islands,  called  by  the  Dutch  Gesellen.  The 
former  has  a  light-house  on  it  and  is  used  by  the  city  govern- 
ment for  hospital  cases  of  infectious  and  contagious  diseases. 
Riker's  Island  is  much  larger  and  lies  toward  the  mouth  of 
Flushing  Bay,  Long  Island.  This  island,  as  well  as  several 
of  the  others,  was  used  during  the  Civil  War  for  the  encamp- 
ment and  drilling  of  recruits,  and  also  for  hospital  purposes. 
It  was  bought  by  the  city  in  1884,  and  for  some  time  was 
used  as  a  dumping  ground  for  the  refuse  of  the  city,  much  to 
the  disgust  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Borough  who  found  it 
almost  impossible  to  breathe  when  the  wind  blew  from  the 
water.  The  Board  of  Health  finally  stopped  the  nuisance, 
which  was  endangering  the  health  of  the  people.  The  island 
is  still  used  for  city  refuse,  but  incineration  plants  have  been 
installed  and  no  odor  is  perceptible  except  when  close  to  the 
island.  Riker's  Island  originally  contained  eighty-seven 
acres,  but  extensive  crib  work  has  been  constructed  and  the 
work  of  filling  in  continued,  so  that  when  completed  the 
island  will  contain  four  hundred  acres  to  be  used  for  municipal 
purposes.    The  work  has  been  done  by  the  prisoners  from 


20 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Blackwell's  Island;  and  the  first  batch  of  prisoners,  150  in 
number,  was  transferred  to  the  island  June  21,  1903.  All 
the  work-house  prisoners  have  since  been  transferred.  A  light- 
house on  Riker's  Island  helps  to  mark  the  navigation  of  the 
East  River. 

Between  Throgg's  Neck  and  Long  Island  are  several  rocky- 
islets  visible  at  low  tide,  which  are  called  the  "Stepping- 
stones";  on  one  of  them  is  a  light-house. 

City  Island,  comprising  230  acres,  lies  off  Rodman's  Neck 
on  the  northerly  side  of  Eastchester  Bay,  and  is  a  long,  narrow 
strip  only  a  few  feet  above  the  waters  of  the  Sound.  Hart 
Island,  of  eighty-five  acres,  lies  to  the  eastward  of  City  Island. 
In  1774,  Oliver  De  Lancey  of  West  Farms  came  into  posses- 
sion of  it.  It  was  then  called  "Spectacle"  Island,  or  "Little 
Minnefords. "  Later,  it  passed  into  the  possession  of  the 
Haights  and  Rodmans,  then  into  the  hands  of  John  Hunter, 
and  finally  into  the  hands  of  the  city  of  New  York,  which 
maintains  there  a  potter's  field,  a  hospital  for  convalescents, 
and  a  work-house  under  the  Department  of  Charities.  High 
Island  lies  north  of  City  Island,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  these 
larger  islands  are  several  rocky  islets  called  Rat  Island,  the 
Chimney  Sweeps,  and  the  Blauzes.  Bolton  says  that  this 
section  was  formerly  the  resort  of  immense  numbers  of  wild 
ducks,  as  many  as  one  thousand  being  shot  in  six  hours. 
To-day,  when  there  is  bad  weather  in  the  Sound,  many  vessels 
of  all  kinds  seek  refuge  under  the  lee  of  the  islands  until  the 
weather  improves  and  they  can  resume  their  interrupted 
voyages.  Goose  Island  is  a  small  island  lying  in  the  mouth 
of  Eastchester  Creek.  Hunter  and  Twin  islands  will  be  con- 
sidered under  the  chapter  on  Parks. 

The  southern  extremity  of  the  Riverdale  Ridge  is  called 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck.    The  fourth  proprietor  was  George 


Political  Formation  and  Topography  21 


Tibbett,  or  Tippett,  whose  house  was  near  the  end  of  the  point ; 
in  consequence,  the  neck  was  known  in  ancient  times  as  Tip- 
pett's  Neck,  or  Tibbett's  Hill.  The  neck  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Berriens  by  the  marriage  of  one  of  them  with 
Dorcas,  the  great-great-granddaughter  of  the  original  Tip- 
pett; and  after  the  Revolution  and  until  the  present,  the  pro- 
montory has  been  known  as  Berrien's  Neck.  The  Manhattan 
tribe  of  Indians  had  an  important  village  and  castle  called 
Nipnichsen,  "a  small  pond  or  watering-place,"  upon  the 
point,  to  which,  and  to  the  section  adjoining,  they  applied 
the  name  of  Shorackkappock,  or  Shorakapkock,  which  means 
"as  far  as  the  sitting-down  place,"  a  reference,  perhaps,  to 
the  fact  that  the  traveller  had  to  sit  down  and  wait  for  the 
tide  to  fall  at  the  wading-place  across  the  creek. 

Port  Morris  is  situated  upon  a  neck  of  land  jutting  into  the 
East  River.  It  was  originally  called  Stony  Point,  or,  since 
it  was  low  land  sometimes  surrounded  by  water  at  high  tide, 
Stony  Island.  This  section  has  been  filled  in  by  the  city, 
sewers  built,  and  streets  laid  out;  and  several  large  factories 
have  been  erected  by  private  parties.  It  was  formerly  a 
part  of  the  manor  of  Morrisania;  and  the  Morrises  counted 
on  making  it  a  rival  to  New  York  on  account  of  the  depth  of 
water  and  the  convenience  of  access  for  large  vessels,  the 
Great  Eastern  having  actually  anchored  off  the  point.  In 
fact,  Port  Morris  was  for  several  years  a  regular  port  of  entry 
with  its  own  custom-house. 

The  idea  of  making  it  an  important  port  has  not  been 
abandoned,  and  numerous  plans  have  been  advanced  from 
time  to  time.  One  of  these  is  the  subject  of  a  pamphlet 
entitled  The  World's  Great  Highway.  The  scheme  will  be 
understood  from  the  following,  taken  from  the  inside 
cover: 


22  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 

"The  World's  Great  Continental  Route! 

IN  THIRTEEN  DAYS  EASILY, 

From  Europe — by  Port  Morris — to  San  Francisco. 

Time  and  Money  saved!    Comfort  increased! 
From  San  Francisco — by  Port  Morris — to  Europe, 

EASILY  IN  THIRTEEN  DAYS, 

And  can  be  done  in  twelve  and  a  half  Days. 
Two  hours  at  Port  Morris. " 

This  plan  is  fathered  by  Charles  Stoughton  under  date  of 
November  4,  1877. 

Adjoining  Port  Morris  on  the  east,  is  Oak  Point,  formerly 
called  Leggett's  Point,  from  a  family  of  the  name  who  owned 
it  from  pre-Revolutionary  days.  Gabriel  Leggett,  the  founder 
of  the  family,  married  into  the  Richardson  family  and  thus 
came  into  possession  of  this  part  of  the  West  Farms  tract. 

The  neck  to  the  west  of  the  Bronx  River  is  called  Hunt's 
Point,  after  the  proprietor  of  1688.  It  really  consists  of  two 
points,  the  more  westerly  one  being  called  Barretto's  Point, 
after  Francis  Barretto,  a  wealthy  New  York  merchant  who 
settled  here  about  1840.  The  Indian  name  of  Hunt's  Point 
was  Quinnahung,  which  means  "a  long,  high  place." 

The  neck  between  the  Bronx  River  and  Wilkins's  Creek  is 
known  as  Cornell's  Neck,  after  the  proprietor  of  1646.  Its 
extremity  is  called  Clason's  Point,  after  a  later  owner.  Its 
Indian  name  was  Snakapins,  probably  a  personal  name,  or, 
perhaps,  a  corruption  of  Sagapin,  a  ground  nut,  or  of  Chinca- 
pin,  the  dwarf  chestnut.  Castle  Hill  Neck  is  the  next  point 
to  the  eastward.  On  the  eastern  side  of  Westchester  Creek 
is  Ferris  Neck,  so  called  after  the  family  who  owned  it;  its 
extremity  is  called  "Old  Ferry  Point,"  from  the  ferry  that 


Political  Formation  and  Topography  23 


connected  it  with  Whitestone,  Long  Island,  from  ancient 
times.  Throgg's  Neck  is  the  long,  narrow  point  upon  which 
Fort  Schuyler  is  situated.  It  gets  its  name  from  the  original 
proprietor  of  1643,  John  Throgmorton,  or  Throckmorton. 
Upon  its  northerly  side  is  Locust  Point,  or  Island. 

Between  the  Sound  on  the  north  and  Eastchester  Bay  on 
the  south  is  the  largest  of  all  the  necks  in  the  Borough.  From 
its  first  white  inhabitant,  the  famous  Anne  Hutchinson, 
it  was  called  by  the  Dutch  Annes  Hoeck  (i.e.,  Ann's  Neck). 
Later,  when  Thomas  Pell  became  proprietor  of  this  whole 
section,  the  neck  was  called  Pell's  Neck,  or  Point;  and  after 
the  formation  of  the  manor,  Pelham  Neck.  A  later  manor- 
lord  sold  to  Samuel  Rodman  the  end  of  the  neck  opposite 
City  Island,  and  hence  we  have  the  name  by  which  it  is 
known  to-day,  Rodman's  Neck. 


CHAPTER.  II 


UNDER  THE  DUTCH 

IN  the  years  1497  and  1498,  the  two  Venetians,  John  and 
Sebastian  Cabot,  father  and  son,  visited  the  shores  of 
North  America  by  authority  of  the  King  of  England, 
Henry  VII.  It  was  during  the  voyage  of  Sebastian  in  1498, 
that  the  explorations  were  carried  as  far  south  as  the  Capes 
of  the  Chesapeake.  It  is  almost  certain  that  he  entered  the 
lower  bay  of  New  York  harbor.  In  the  year  1524,  Verrazano, 
a  Florentine  under  the  French  flag,  explored  the  coast  of  North 
America  between  thirty  and  fifty  degrees  north  latitude  and 
took  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  the  French  king.  He  un- 
doubtedly entered  the  bay  of  New  York.  In  the  following 
year,  1525,  Estevan  Gomez,  a  Portuguese  navigator  under 
the  Spanish  flag,  also  entered  the  estuary  of  the  Hudson,  which 
he  named  Rio  San  Antonio. 

In  1609,  Henry  Hudson  sailed  from  Holland  under  the 
auspices  of  the  United  Netherlands  Trading  Company;  and 
on  the  third  of  September  entered  the  harbor  of  New  York. 
He  reached  the  site  of  Albany,  as  far  as  the  river  was  navigable, 
and  then  began  his  return  voyage  down  the  river,  leaving  it 
forever  on  the  third  of  October.  In  his  report  to  the  Company 
from  Dartmouth,  England,  where  he  wintered  on  his  return 
to  Europe,  he  named  the  river  Mauritius,  in  honor  of  Prince 
Maurice  of  Orange. 

24 


Under  the  Dutch 


25 


The  Dutch  soon  took  advantage  of  Hudson's  discovery; 
and  for  nearly  fifteen  years  a  succession  of  Dutch  vessels 
under  skillful  and  active  masters  like  Block,  May,  Christiansen, 
and  De  Witt  visited  the  river  and  traded  with  the  Indians, 
returning  to  Holland  with  furs  and  peltry.  Trading-posts 
were  established  at  Castle  Island  below  Albany  and  on  Man- 
hattan Island;  the  former  was  the  more  important,  being  near 
the  heart  of  the  fur  country  and  among  friendly  Indians. 
But  the  traders  did  not  stay;  having  laden  their  ships,  they 
returned  to  Holland. 

The  first  lot  of  agricultural  colonists  settled  at  Fort  Orange, 
later  Albany,  in  the  first  half  of  May,  1624,  The  settlement 
of  Manhattan  Island  did  not  take  place  until  the  spring  of 
1626;  though  for  many  years  before  that  date  the  island  had 
been  occupied,  as  indicated,  as  a  trading-post  by  the  Dutch, 
and  probably  by  the  French.  In  the  year  1628,  according 
to  Wassenaer,  the  total  white  population  of  New  Amsterdam 
numbered  two  hundred  and  seventy  souls. 

The  land  north  of  the  Harlem  River  was  occupied  near  the 
Hudson  by  the  Manhattans  and  by  the  Weckquaesgeeks ; 
eastward  of  them  were  the  Siwanoys  as  far  as  Stamford  in 
Connecticut — all  branches  of  the  Mohegans.  This  territory 
was  usually  spoken  of  as  the  mainland. 

On  August  3,  1639,  there  was  conveyed  by  the  Indian 
sachems,  Tequeemet,  Rechgawac,  and  Pachimiens,  to  the 
West  India  Company,  through  Secretary  Cornelis  Van  Tien- 
hoven,  a  tract  of  land,  "called  Keskeskeck,  stretching  length- 
wise along  the  Kil  which  runs  behind  the  island  of  Manhattan, 
mostly  east  and  west,  and  beginning  at  the  head  of  said  Kil 
and  running  to  opposite  of  the  high  hill  by  the  flat,  namely 
by  the  Great  Kil,  with  all  right,  titles,  etc.,  etc."  The  "Kil 
behind  the  island  of  Manhattan"  is  the  Harlem  River;  the 


26 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


"  Great  Kil"  is  the  Hudson;  and  "the  high  hill  by  the  flat" 
is,  probably,  the  hill  at  the  north  end  of  the  island;  the  "flat" 
refers  to  the  plains  of  Harlem.  The  boundaries  of  this  tract, 
especially  to  the  northward,  are  rather  indefinite;  but  the 
tract  later  became  the  lower  portion  of  Westchester  County, 
and  later  still,  the  Borough.  The  transfer  was  made  "in 
consideration  of  a  certain  lot  of  merchandise, "  which  the 
sachems  acknowledged  to  have  received. 

The  prevailing  idea  is  that  the  European  colonists,  with  the 
exception  of  Penn,  simply  took  the  lands  from  the  Indians  and 
occupied  them.  On  the  contrary,  the  general  custom  was  to 
purchase  the  land  from  the  Indians ;  and  this  was  the  invariable 
rule  in  Dutch  New  Netherland  and  English  New  York.  In 
searching  titles  to-day  in  the  older  States,  the  basis  will 
always  be  found  in  the  Indian  title.  To  our  modern  notions, 
the  recompense  to  the  Indians  seems  inadequate;  but  to  a 
people  whose  idea  of  value  was  based  upon  belts  of  wampum 
made  of  shells,  the  iron  pots,  blankets,  trinkets,  and  what 
not,  were  probably  of  inestimable  value.  At  the  same  time, 
Dutch  thrift  is  proverbial;  and  they  made  good  bargains. 

The  flats  of  Haerlem  had  already  been  occupied  as  bou- 
weries,  or  farms,  by  the  Dutch  settlers,  and  it  is  probable  that 
some  of  the  boers,  or  farmers,  crossed  the  river  and  occupied 
the  new  land  "upon  the  Maine."  In  the  year  1640,  a  second 
purchase  was  made  of  the  lands  to  the  eastward  of  Keskes- 
keck;  and  in  1641,  Jonas  Bronk,  or  Brunk,  made  a  purchase 
of  five  hundred  acres  of  land  between  the  Harlem  and  Aqua- 
hung  rivers.  The  latter  soon  lost  its  Indian  name  and  became 
known  after  the  proprietor  as  Bronk's  River;  to-day,  the 
Bronx,  a  natural  derivative  from  "Bronk's,"  which  has 
given  its  name  to  the  Borough. 

Bronk,  Bronck,  or  Brunk  was  a  Dane,  or  Swede,  who  had 


Under  the  Dutch 


27 


taken  up  his  residence  in  Amsterdam,  Holland,  where  he 
married  Antonia  Slagboom.  Hearing  of  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  of  Nieuw  Nederlandt,  and  filled  with  the  spirit  of  adven- 
ture which  permeated  all  classes  during  that  age,  he  embarked 
with  his  family,  servants,  cattle,  and  other  property  and  ar- 
rived in  New  Amsterdam  in  July,  1639.  That  the  Company 
had  in  view  the  Keskeskeck  purchase  of  August  3,  1639,  and 
that  Bronk  had  determined  to  avail  himself  of  the  newly  to 
be  acquired  land  are  shown  by  records  in  Albany  among  the 
ancient  archives  of  the  State,  One  of  them  is  a  lease  made  on 
July  2 1, 1639,  by  Jonas  Bronck  to  Peter  Andriessen  and  Lourent 
Dayts,  by  which  the  former  agrees  to  "show"  to  the  lessees  a 
certain  lot, 

"in  which  lot  aforesaid  they  may  cultivate  tobacco  and 
maize,  upon  the  express  condition  that  they  shall  clear  and 
cultivate  every  two  years  a  fresh  spot  for  the  raising  their 
tobacco  and  maize,  and  then  the  spot  which  they  cultivated 
before  shall  return  again  to  Mr.  Bronck  aforesaid,  to  dispose 
of  according  to  pleasure." 

They  had  the  use  of  each  field  they  cleared  for  three 
years,  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  it  became  once  more 
at  the  disposal  of  the  proprietor.  The  lease  was  made 
by  Secretary  Van  Tienhoven.  It  was  a  case  of  what  we 
should  call  to-day  "working  on  shares,"  by  which  the 
owner  of  the  land  gradually  got  it  cleared  without  expense 
to  himself,  while  the  lessees  were  entitled  to  the  usufruct. 
On  the  fifteenth  of  August  of  the  same  year,  Bronk  also  leased 
land  on  similar  terms  to  Cornelius  Jacobsen  Stoll  and  John 
Jacobsen.  Bronk  bought  his  land  from  two  Indian  sachems, 
Ranaque  and  Tackamuck.  He  erected  a  stone  house  covered 
with  tiles,  barns,  barracks,  and  a  tobacco  house;  and,  being 
of  a  religious  nature,  named  his  house  Emmans.    His  house 


28 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


was  situated  not  far  from  the  present  Harlem  River  station 
of  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  Railroad,  at 
Lincoln  Avenue  and  East  1326.  Street. 

He  had  hardly  established  himself  at  Emmaus  before  an 
Indian  war  broke  out,  which  lasted  with  intervals  for  three 
years,  during  which  the  Weckquaesgeeks  destroyed  all  the 
farms  and  bouweries  in  that  section.  The  war  was  brought 
about  by  Governor  Kieft,  who  demanded  from  his  tribe  the 
surrender  of  an  Indian  murderer  who  had  killed  at  Harlem  a 
harmless  Dutchman  named  Smits.  Notwithstanding  the  ad- 
verse opinions  of  his  twelve  councillors,  William  the  Testy  forced 
the  war  with  most  disastrous  effects  to  the  colony.  A  treaty 
was  made  with  the  Indians  at  Bronk's  house  in  1642;  but  the 
Indians  again  began  their  depredations  and  continued  them 
until  their  power  was  completely  broken  and  five  hundred  of 
them  slain  at  Mehanus  by  Captain  John  Underhill,  in  1645. 

In  the  year  1643,  Jonas  Bronk,  the  first  recorded  white 
settler  of  Westchester  County,  died ;  and  his  estate  was  admin- 
istered by  friends  in  Harlem,  Dominie  Everardus  Bogardus 
(the  husband  of  the  famous  Annetje  Jans)  and  Jochim  Petersen 
Keyser.  From  the  inventory  of  the  estate,  we  must  believe 
that  Heer  Bronk  was  a  gentleman  of  education,  culture,  and 
refinement;  for  there  appear  books,  silver  table  service,  linen 
napkins,  and  "six  linen  shirts."  The  books  were  chiefly 
of  a  religious  or  theological,  character,  polemical  discussions 
so  dear  to  the  reader  and  writer  of  that  day,  and  were  in 
several  languages;  so  that  Heer  Bronk  must  have  been  some- 
thing of  a  linguist.  His  son  Peter  afterwards  settled  near 
Albany,  in  whose  neighborhood,  so  it  is  said,  his  descendants 
are  to  this  day.  The  widow  married  Arendt  Van  Corlaer, 
sheriff  of  Rensselaerswyck, 1  who  sold  "  Brouncksland "  to 

1  See  The  Lady  of  Fort  St.  John,  by  Mrs.  Catherwood. 


2  2 


*  -a 


Under  the  Dutch 


29 


Jacob  Jans  Stoll.  After  passing  through  various  hands,  it 
came  into  possession  of  Samuel  Edsall  about  1668-1670,  who 
sold  it  in  1670  to  Richard  and  Lewis  Morris,  merchants  of 
Barbados.  Captain  Richard  Morris  was  already  located  in 
New  York  and  bought  the  land  and  took  possession  of  it  in 
behalf  of  his  brother,  Colonel  Lewis  Morris,  as  well  as  for 
himself. 

The  bounds  of  "  Brouncksland"1  are  hard  to  determine. 
The  northern  line  probably  did  not  extend  beyond  150th 
Street.  To  the  east,  the  land  extended  to  Bungay  Creek; 
and  to  the  south,  to  the  Harlem  River  and  Bronx  Kills.  The 
site  of  Bronk's  house  became  that  of  Colonel  Lewis  Morris, 
and  later,  of  the  manor-house. 

The  next  settler  within  the  Borough  was  Mrs.  Anne  Hutchin- 
son, who  had  come  from  England  to  Boston  in  1634.  Here 
her  peculiar  religious  notions  and  outspoken  criticisms  ren- 
dered her  obnoxious  to  the  theocratic  authorities  of  that  colony 
so  that  she  was  banished  from  it  shortly  after  Roger  Williams 
had  suffered  a  like  fate  from  Salem.  She  went  to  Williams's 
new  settlement  at  Rhode  Island  and  founded  Portsmouth  and 
Newport ;  but  not  finding  Rhode  Island  to  her  liking,  she  again 
migrated  with  her  husband,  family,  and  belongings  to  the 
Dutch  colony  of  New  Netherland,  and  settled,  in  1643,  in 
what  is  known  as  Pelham  Neck.  The  Dutch  called  the  neck 
after  her,  "Annes  Hoeck, "  or  Ann's  Neck;  the  stream  near 
which  her  house  stood  was  called  Hutchinson's  River,  a  name 
that  it  still  bears.  In  the  Indian  war  which  broke  out  again 
after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  at  Bronk's  house,  the  savages 
made  a  descent  upon  her  farm  and  wiped  it  out  of  existence, 
at  the  same  time  killing  her  and  all  her  family  and  servants 

1  Also  spelled  Broncksland,  Bmnksland,  Bronksland,  Bruksland,  and 
several  other  ways  in  ancient  records  and  histories. 


30 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


except  a  granddaughter,  who  was  carried  into  captivity,  but 
who  was  afterwards  restored ;  her  two  years'  captivity  among 
the  savages  had  converted  her  into  one. 

In  September,  1642,  John  Throckmorton,  or  Throgmorton, 
with  thirty-five  families  applied  to  the  Dutch  authorities 
for  permission  to  occupy  the  Vriedelandt,  or  ' 1  land  of  peace," 
as  it  was  called  by  the  Dutch,  on  the  shore  of  the  Sound. 
This  permission  having  been  granted,  October,  1642,  the 
colonists  settled  on  the  long  neck  lying  south  of  Eastchester 
Bay,  which,  after  the  leader  of  the  colonists,  was  called  Throg- 
morton's  Neck,  contracted  into  Throgg's  Neck,  and  sometimes 
Frog's  Neck.  Governor  Kieft  gave  them  a  patent,  or  grond 
brief,  for  the  land  in  July,  1643.  The  colony  was  composed 
of  Quakers  and  other  malcontents  from  the  New  England 
colonies,  who  found  the  religious  intolerance  of  those  colonies 
unbearable,  and  so  sought  freedom  among  the  Dutch.  Roger 
Williams,  the  founder  of  Rhode  Island,  was  a  personal  friend 
of  Throckmorton ;  and  it  is  known  he  was  in  New  Amsterdam 
in  the  winter  of  1642- 1643,  sailing  from  New  Amsterdam  for 
Europe,  whence  he  returned  later  with  the  famous  charter 
for  his  colonies  in  Rhode  Island.  It  is  more  than  likely  that 
he  visited  Throgg's  Neck,  as  he  was  deeply  interested  in  the 
success  of  his  friend  Throckmorton  and  his  colony  in  the 
Vriedelandt.  The  colony  thrived ;  but  the  Indian  raiders  who 
had  destroyed  the  Hutchinson  family  attacked  the  Vriedelandt 
colony  and  destroyed  it.  Eighteen  persons  were  massacred; 
but  a  passing  boat  fortunately  landed  at  the  neck  at  the  time 
of  the  attack,  and  the  remainder  of  the  settlers  escaped  in  it. 
Before  the  war  ended,  the  whole  section  north  of  the  Harlem 
River,  as  well  as  Long  Island,  became  a  wilderness;  as  those 
who  escaped  the  tomahawk  of  the  savage  sought  safety  in  the 
fort  at  New  Amsterdam. 


Under  the  Dutch 


31 


One  of  Throckmorton's  companions  at  the  Vriedelandt 
colony  was  Thomas  Cornell,  a  native  of  Essex  in  England,  who 
escaped  at  the  time  of  the  Indian  massacre.  On  July  26, 
1646,  he  was  granted  by  the.  Dutch  authorities  a  patent  to 
the  land  lying  between  "B  rank's  Kill"  and  the  creek,  now 
called  Pugsley's,  which  enters  the  mouth  of  Westchester 
Creek.  The  Indian  name  of  the  neck  was  Snakapins;  but 
when  Cornell  settled  on  the  land  it  took  his  name.  He  erected 
buildings  and  cultivated  the  land  until  again  forced  to  vacate 
by  Indian  aggressions.  After  his  two  experiences,  Cornell 
seems  to  have  given  up  hope  of  establishing  himself  in  New 
Nether  land  and  returned  to  Portsmouth,  Rhode  Island, 
where  he  is  recorded  as  being  on  a  coroner's  jury  in  1653, 
and  as  a  commissioner  of  the  town  in  1654.  His  daughter, 
who  married  Thomas  Willett,  September  1,  1643,  inherited 
the  neck,  and  it  remained  with  her  descendants  for  over  a 
century  and  a  half. 

Throckmorton  did  not  return  to  his  colony  after  the  catas- 
trophe which  had  overtaken  it,  but  settled  in  New  Jersey. 
On  April  29,  1652,  he  petitioned  Governor  Stuyvesant  for 
permission  to  dispose  of  the  land ;  and  in  the  following  October 
he  sold  it  to  Augustine  Hermans.  Shortly  afterwards, 
Hermans  sold  fifty  morgens1  of  the  land  to  Thomas  Hunt, 
who,  after  the  English  occupation,  received  from  Governor 
Nicolls  a  confirmatory  grant,  or  patent,  under  date  of  Decem- 
ber 4,  1667. 

In  order  to  encourage  the  settlement  of  New  Netherland, 
the  West  India  Company  offered  in  1629  great  tracts  of  land 
to  any  one  who  would  establish  a  colony  of  fifty  persons  above 
the  age  of  fifteen  years.  If  on  a  river,  the  domain  was  to 
extend  sixteen  miles  on  one  bank,  or  eight  miles  on  each  bank, 

1 A  Dutch  morgen,  or  acre,  approximates  two  English  acres. 


32 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


and  to  run  back  as  far  "as  the  situation  of  the  occupiers  will 
admit."  The  owner  of  the  land  was  styled  "patroon, "  and 
he  was  almost  absolute  ruler  of  whatever  colony  he  might 
plant.  He  bound  himself,  however:  (i)  to  transplant  the 
fifty  settlers  to  New  Amsterdam  at  his  own  expense;  (2)  to 
provide  each  of  them  with  a  farm  stocked  with  horses,  cattle, 
and  farming  tools,  and  charge  a  low  rent;  (3)  to  employ  a 
schoolmaster  and  minister  of  the  Gospel.  In  return,  the 
colonist  bound  himself :  (1)  to  stay  and  cultivate  the  patroon's 
land  for  ten  years;  (2)  to  bring  his  grain  to  the  patroon's 
mill  and  pay  for  grinding;  (3)  to  use  no  cloth  not  made  in 
Holland ;  (4)  to  sell  no  grain  or  produce  till  the  patroon  had  a 
chance  to  buy  it. 

This  generous  offer  of  the  Company  found  many  takers, 
and  during  the  Dutch  period,  over  six  hundred  patents  were 
granted.  The  greatest  of  all  the  patroons  was  Kilian  Van 
Rensselaer,  a  diamond  polisher  and  director  of  the  Company, 
who  took  up  over  seven  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  in 
the  valleys  of  the  Hudson  and  the  Mohawk.  He  selected  as 
sheriff  of  his  patroonship,  de  Jonkheer  Adrien  Van  der  Donck, 
who  came  to  Rensselaerswyck  in  1641.  Van  der  Donck  was 
a  native  of  Breda,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Leyden,  and 
a  lawyer  by  profession,  the  first  to  come  to  New  Netherland. 
He  served  for  five  years  with  Van  Rensselaer,  with  whom  he 
had  many  differences,  and  who  accused  him  of  dishonorable 
dealings. 

On  October  22,  1645,  Van  der  Donck  married  Mary,  the 
daughter  of  the  Reverend  Francis  Doughty  of  Long  Island; 
and  soon  afterwards,  disgusted  with  his  experience  with  Van 
Rensselaer,  he  withdrew  from  Beverwyck  and  settled  in  New 
Amsterdam.  He  desired  to  become  a  patroon  himself;  and 
being  a  man  of  culture  and  education,  as  well  as  of  means, 


Under  the  Dutch 


33 


he  had  little  trouble  in  coming  to  terms  with  the  Company, 
especially  as  they  were  under  obligations  to  him  for  services 
rendered,  as  well  as  for  money  loaned.  He  was  bound,  however, 
to  obtain  deeds  from  the  Indians  for  any  lands  taken  from  them 
which  had  not  already  been  purchased  by  the  Company. 

The  tract  selected  by  Van  der  Donck  extended  north  about 
eight  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek  along  the 
east  bank  of  the  Hudson,  thence  easterly  to  the  Bronx  River, 
which  was  the  eastern  boundary;  the  southern  boundary  ran 
from  the  eastern  entrance  of  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek  east  to 
the  Bronx  River;  the  southern  boundary  was  Spuyten  Duyvil 
Creek.  The  boundaries  were  about  the  same  as  those  of  the 
township  of  Yonkers  as  formed  by  the  Legislature  of  1788. 
The  tract  was  called  " Nepperhaem"  in  the  deed;  but  was 
known  popularly  as  "Colen  Donck"  (Donck's  Colony), 
and  sometimes  as  "De  Jonkheer's, "  which  latter  by  natural 
corruption  became  Yonkers,  the  "J"  in  Dutch  being  pro- 
nounced "Y." 

Van  der  Donck  was  attracted  to  this  section  by  the  fertility 
of  the  soil,  its  nearness  to  the  fort  at  New  Amsterdam  and  by 
the  fact  that  there  was  a  good  running  stream,  the  Nepperhan, 
which  could  be  easily  dammed  so  as  to  furnish  power  for  the 
mills  to  be  erected  along  its  banks.  As  a  result  of  these  mills, 
the  stream  was  called  Be  Zaag  Kill  or  "Saw  Creek,"  or,  as 
known  in  Yonkers  to-day,  the  Sawmill  River.  The  dams 
remained  until  1892,  when  they  were  removed  for  sanitary 
reasons. 

The  almost  absolute  powers  given  to  the  patroons  brought 
them  to  believe  they  were  equal  to,  or  independent  of,  the 
Company's  representatives.  Hence,  constant  disputes  arose 
between  them  and  the  governor,  he  trying  to  curtail  the 
powers  of  these  landed  gentry,  and  they  defying  his  authority 
3 


34 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


to  interfere  with  their  property  and  business.  The  despotic 
Stuyvesant  finally  gave  way  and  a  Council  of  Nine  was  formed 
in  1649,  of  which  Van  der  Donck  was  a  member.  He  returned 
to  Holland  as  the  agent  of  those  opposed  to  the  governor; 
and  the  fact  that  he  had  been  imprisoned  by  Stuyvesant  for 
contumacious  conduct  gave  additional  weight  to  his  feeling 
against  the  governor.  Stuyvesant's  friends  in  Holland  were 
too  strong  for  Van  der  Donck,  however,  and  he  became  an 
object  of  suspicion  to  the  authorities,  who  kept  him  under 
surveillance.  Upon  his  attempting  to  return  to  the  colony  he 
was  stopped,  even  after  his  family  and  property  were  aboard 
the  vessel.  His  detention  lasted  until  1653.  He  wrote  a  his- 
tory of  New  Netherland,  but  the  part  relating  to  the  govern- 
ment was  suppressed.  In  1652,  the  University  of  Leyden 
conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  ■ '  Doctor  of  Civil  and  Canon 
Law";  and  the  same  year  he  received  his  patent  for  his  pa- 
troonship  from  the  States-General  itself,  the  highest  authority 
in  Holland ;  the  grant  had  been  made  in  1 646.  The  delay  of  six 
years  may  have  been  caused  either  by  his  strenuous  remon- 
strances against  the  governor,  by  which  Van  der  Donck  be- 
came persona  non  grata,  or  by  some  difficulty  in  obtaining 
deeds  from  the  Weckquaesgeeks  and  Manhattans,  who  had 
several  villages  on  his  tract. 

Van  der  Donck  came  back  to  New  Amsterdam  in  1653, 
having  first  requested  permission  from  the  Company  to 
practise  his  profession  as  a  lawyer ;  but  so  distrustful  were  they 
of  his  ability  to  make  trouble  that  they  refused,  except  that 
"he  might  give  his  opinion  if  asked. "  He  once  more  returned 
to  Holland,  and  then  came  back  to  New  Amsterdam,  where  he 
died  in  1655. 

He  probably  never  lived  upon  his  land;  though  that  he 
intended  to  do  so  is  shown  by  his  purchase  from  the  Indians 


Under  the  Dutch 


35 


of  a  tract  of  flat  land  for  that  indispensable  adjunct  to  every 
Dutchman's  comfort  and  peace  of  mind,  a  garden.  The 
tract,  called  "Van  der  Donck's  Planting  Ground,"  lies  in  the 
parade  ground  in  Van  Cortlandt  Park,  west  of  Tippett's 
Brook  and  the  lake.  This  was  also  the  site  probably  selected 
for  his  house.  In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  his 
grant,  he  established  colonists  upon  his  land,  who,  in  view  of 
the  Indian  war  of  Kieft's  administration,  cultivated  friendly 
relations  with  the  red  men,  who  still  maintained  their  villages 
at  Spuyten  Duyvil  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sawmill  River, 
at  both  of  which  places  many  Indian  relics  have  been  found. 
He  also  established  a  saw-mill  on  the  Nepperhan  in  1649; 
but  his  death  in  1655  frustrated  any  plans  he  had  made  for  the 
development  of  his  land. 

As  to  his  family,  we  have  nothing  trustworthy.  His  wife, 
Mary  Doughty,  may  have  built  upon  and  cultivated  the  land 
and  received  some  income  from  it.  If  he  had  children,  their 
records  have  disappeared,  though  it  is  said  there  were  Van 
der  Doncks  on  Long  Island,  but  whether  direct  or  collateral 
descendants  is  not  known.  His  widow  married  Hugh  O'Neale 
of  Patuxent,  Maryland,  before  1666,  and  she  went  there  to 
live  in  1671.  We  shall  come  across  her  again  when  we  take 
up  the  English  period. 

In  1654-55,  some  New  Englanders,  probably  carrying  out 
the  claim  of  Connecticut  to  the  south,  settled  in  the  Vriede- 
landt  near  Westchester  Creek  without  permission  of  Governor 
Stuyvesant.  Such  an  act  would  be  sure  to  arouse  Peter  the 
Headstrong,  and  we  find  that  on  April  19,  1655,  a  writ  of  eject- 
ment was  issued  against  "Thomas  Pel  and  other  trespassers.  " 
On  the  twenty-second,  Claes  Van  Elslant,  the  messenger  of 
the  Dutch  court,  accompanied  by  Albert  the  Trumpeter, 
served  the  writ.    Notwithstanding  that  he  was  threatened 


36 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


by  armed  men,  Van  Elslant  jumped  bravely  ashore,  and  though 
at  once  made  prisoner,  did  his  duty  and  read  the  protest, 
afterwards  handing  it  to  the  leader  of  the  trespassers,  who 
said: 

' '  I  cannot  understand  Dutch ;  why  did  not  the  Fiscal  send 
it  in  English?  If  you  send  it  in  English,  then  I  shall  send 
an  answer  in  writing.  But  it 's  no  matter;  we  expect  the 
ships  from  Holland  and  England  which  are  to  bring  the 
settlement  of  the  boundary.  .  .  .  Whether  we  are  to  dwell 
here  under  the  States  or  Parliament  time  will  tell ;  furthermore, 
we  abide  here  under  the  States  of  England.  ...  If  we  had  a 
sup  of  wine  we  should  offer  you  some;  but  we  have  not  any. " 

Then  they  all  fired  their  guns  into  the  air  by  way  of  a  salute. 
Van  Elslant  tried  to  see  all  he  could  of  their  houses,  but  they 
kept  both  the  Dutchmen  closely  guarded  and  finally  per- 
mitted them  to  return  to  New  Amsterdam. 

Then,  indeed,  were  Stuyvesant  and  his  council  wrathy  at 
the  treatment  meted  out  to  their  messengers;  though  it  was 
not  until  the  sixth  of  the  following  March  that  everything 
was  ready  for  the  expedition.  Captain  de  Connick  and  ' 
Captain-lieutenant  Nuton  represented  the  military  arm,  and 
Fiscal  Van  Tienhoven,  the  civil  arm  of  the  government. 
They  started  with  a  body  of  men  for  Westchester,  or  Oostdorp, 
as  it  was  called  by  the  Dutch,  with  orders  to  fall  upon  it  by 
night,  force  the  trespassers  to  withdraw  with  their  cattle  and 
property  and  to  destroy  the  houses. 

The  expedition  reached  Oostdorp  on  the  fourteenth  of  March 
and  found  the  settlers  under  arms  ready  to  receive  it.  The 
leader  of  the  trespassers  was  named  Wheeler;  and  the  whole 
colony,  if  we  are  to  believe  the  worthy  Secretary  Van  Tien- 
hoven, was  composed  of  fugitives,  vagabonds,  and  thieves, 
who  had  been  driven  out  of  New  England  on  account  of  their 


Under  the  Dutch 


37 


misdoings.  They  refused  to  leave,  saying  the  land  belonged 
to  them.  They  were  then  disarmed,  and  twenty-three  of 
them  were  taken  prisoners  to  New  Amsterdam  in  a  vessel 
called  de  Waagh  (the  Scales).  Only  a  few  men,  with  the 
women  and  children,  were  left  to  take  care  of  the  goods. 
The  pleadings  of  the  wives  of  the  prisoners  were  effective  with 
the  governor  and  council,  and  so  the  prisoners  were  released, 
after  being  required  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  expedition 
(thrifty  Dutch!)  and  promising  under  oath  to  vacate  the 
colony  within  six  weeks  and  not  to  return  without  consent  of 
the  Dutch  authorities. 

The  Englishmen  then  drew  up  a  very  humble  petition  to  the 
Dutch  authorities,  praying  that  they  might  be  permitted  to 
remain  at  Westchester;  and  since  the  Dutch  claimed  juris- 
diction over  the  land,  they  stated  they  were  willing  to  acknow- 
ledge that  authority  and  give  true  and  humble  allegiance  to 
the  same  so  long  as  they  remained,  provided  they  be  permitted 
to  choose  their  own  officers  for  the  management  of  their  town 
affairs.  The  governor  and  council,  having  thus  established 
the  claim  of  the  West  India  Company  to  the  Vriedelandt, 
graciously  granted  the  petition  the  day  it  was  made,  March 
sixteenth.  They  then  returned  to  Westchester  and  organized 
their  town  government,  electing  Lieutenant  Thomas  Wheeler 
as  their  magistrate,  whose  election  was  confirmed  by  the  gover- 
nor; but  several  of  the  worst  characters  were  required  to  give 
bail  for  their  good  conduct  or  leave  the  colony.  This  was 
the  pledge  that  was  signed  later  by  the  usurping  English: 

"This  first  Jannaury  A.  1657;  in  east  towne 
in  the  N.  Netherlands. 

Wee  whose  hands  are  vnder  writen  do  promes  to  oune  the 


38 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


gouernor  of  the  manatas  as  our  gouernor  and  obay  all  his 
magastrates  and  laws  that  ar  mad  acordin  to  god  so  long  as  we 
Hue  in  his  Juridiction. " 

One  of  the  primary  causes  of  Stuyvesant's  action  against 
the  Oostdorp  colonists  lay  in  the  fact  that,  in  1655,  an  Indian 
war  broke  out,  and  that  the  New  Englanders  were  suspected 
of  being  the  instigators,  or,  at  least,  in  a  conspiracy  with  the 
Indians  to  injure  the  Dutch  and  to  deprive  them  of  their  land. 
In  addition,  they  were  in  communication  writh  the  Connecticut 
colony  and  gave  Stuy vesant  so  much  trouble  that  the  Directors 
ordered  their  removal.  Later,  in  1664,  Van  Couwenhoven  re- 
ported that  an  Indian  sachem  came  to  his  house  and  stated 
that  theOostdorp  settlers  had  promised  to  assist  the  Esopus  and 
Wappinger  Indians  in  an  insurrection  against  the  Dutch.  The 
English  were  to  drive  the  Dutch  out  of  Long  Island  and  New 
Amsterdam  and  wanted  the  Indians  to  assist.  The  latter  were 
willing  and  promised  the  English  land  at  Esopus,  if  success- 
ful ;  but,  upon  visiting  Westchester  for  final  arrangements,  their 
sachems  were  told  that  the  English  sachem  (probably  Wheeler)  ✓ 
had  entered  into  an  arrangement  with  Stuyvesant  for  a  year, 
and  that  no  war  could  be  started  at  present.  The  Indians 
went  away  disgusted,  saying:  "It  is  better  to  be  at  peace  with 
the  Dutch;  the  English  are  only  fooling  us." 

The  insubordinate  settlers  sent  a  complaint  and  petition  to 
the  New  England  authorities  in  August,  1664,  in  which  they 
recited  their  tribulations  of  1656.  They  recounted  the  hard- 
ships they  had  endured  in  the  hold  of  a  vessel  and  in  the 
dungeons  of  the  Manhattoes,  and  all  because  they  had  resisted 
the  Dutch  claim  to  their  land.  They  also  stated  that,  upon 
their  release,  some  of  their  number  had  been  driven  away  and 
the  rest  enslaved.    But  before  that  petition  could  be  acted 


Under  the  Dutch 


39 


upon,  Stuyvesant  was  rid  of  his  unruly  settlers  and  they  of 
him;  for  the  following  month,  Colonel  Nicolls  appeared  off 
New  Amsterdam  and  the  whole  colony  became  the  property 
of  James,  Duke  of  York  and  Albany. 

In  Chapter  VII.  of  Irving's  Knickerbocker's  History  of  New 
York  is  an  interesting  and  amusing  account  of  the  habits  and 
customs  of  the  "Yanokies, "  who  trespassed  over  the  border 
of  the  Dutch  colony  and  occupied,  or  squatted  upon,  the  Dutch 
land. 

One  of  these  "moss-troopers, "  as  Irving  elsewhere  calls  the 
New  England  land-grabbers,  was  Thomas  Pell  of  Onckway, 
or  Fairfield,  in  Connecticut.  He  had  taken  part  in  the  Civil 
War  in  England  on  the  side  of  the  Parliament,  but,  before  the 
Restoration,  moved  to  France  and  then  to  America.  Accord- 
ing to  his  own  statement,  he  purchased  in  1654  from  the 
Indians,  "for  a  valuable  consideration,"  title  to  the  lands 
lying  eastward  of  the  Aqueanouncke,  or  Hutchinson's  River; 
though  we  shall  see  later  that  he  claimed  to  the  Bronx  and 
East  rivers.  This  purchase,  according  to  Bolton,  was  within 
the  bounds  of  the  Dutch  purchase  of  1640,  to  the  eastward  of 
Keskeskeck.  The  purchase  included  Minneford's  Island, 
Hunter's  Island,  and  Hart  Island.  This  purchase  afterwards 
became  the  Manor  of  Pelham  (see  Chapter  III.).  The  south- 
ern portion,  including  the  islands,  is  now  a  part  of  the  Borough. 
Pell's  purchase  gave  great  uneasiness  to  the  Dutch. 

There  were  constant  and  continuous  bickerings  between  the 
New  Englanders  and  the  Dutch  concerning  the  boundary  line 
between  their  respective  colonies.  Adrien  Block  had  explored 
the  shores  as  far  eastward  as  the  island  which  bears  his  name 
(1614).  If  exploration  and  discovery  give  claim,  the  Dutch 
certainly  had  priority;  for  though  the  English  navigators, 
Cabot,  John  Smith,  and  others,  are  supposed  to  have  sailed 


4o 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


along  the  coast,  their  data  are  too  indefinite  to  give  a  valid 
claim.  The  first  Englishman  whose  reports  are  reliable  is 
Captain  Thomas  Dermer,  who  sailed  under  instructions  from 
Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges,  afterwards  one  of  the  proprietors  of 
New  Hampshire,  in  1619.  One  object  of  his  voyage  was  to 
return  to  the  island  of  Monhegan,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Kennebec,  an  Indian  named  Squanto,  who  had  been  kid- 
napped with  twenty-six  companions  by  Hunt  in  1614,  and  sold 
as  slaves  in  Malaga,  Spain,  whence  they  were  released  by  some 
benevolent  Spanish  monks,  whose  efforts  eventually  returned 
most  of  them  to  their  native  land. 

The  account  of  Dermer's  voyage  in  his  pinnace  along  the 
coast  to  Virginia  is  very  interesting.  He  visited  Patuxent, 
on  the  shore  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  where,  a  year  and  a  half 
later,  December,  1621,  the  Pilgrims  were  to  land  and  establish 
their  colony  of  Plymouth,  voyaged  along  the  shores  of  Cape 
Cod,  Martha's  Vineyard,  and  Long  Island  Sound,  where,  he 
says:  "I  fear  I  had  been  embayed."  At  what  was  later 
Throgg's  Neck,  "a  great  multitude  of  Indians  let  fly  at  us 
from  the  bank;  but  it  pleased  God  to  make  us  victors.  Near 
unto  this  we  found  a  most  dangerous  cataract  amongst 
small,  rocky  islands,  occasioned  by  two  unequal  tides,  the  one 
ebbing  and  flowing  two  hours  before  the  other";  a  very  good 
description  of  that  terror  of  ancient  navigators,  Hell  Gate. 
He  then  visited  Manhattan  Island  and  "met  with  certain 
Hollanders  who  had  a  trade  in  Hudson's  River  some  years 
before  that  time  (161 9),  with  whom  I  had  a  conference  about 
the  state  of  that  coast,  and  their  proceedings  with  those 
people,  whose  answer  gave  me  good  content."  Dermer  was, 
therefore,  the  first  Englishman  to  visit  the  shores  of  the 
Borough. 

As  early  as  1632,  the  Dutch  bought  from  the  Indians  the 


Under  the  Dutch  41 


lands  in  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Connecticut  on  both  sides  of 
the  river,  and  Commissary  Van  Curler  established  a  fort  at 
the  junction  of  a  small  stream  (now  the  Park  River)  with 
the  "Fresh"  River,  as  the  Connecticut  was  then  called.  The 
fort  was  near  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Hartford,  and  was 
called  "Fort  Good  Hope."  The  arms  of  the  States-General 
were  also  nailed  to  a  tree  at  Kievet's  Hoeck  (Say brook  Point) 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  mouth  of  the  river.  An  Englishman 
named  Holmes  visited  the  river  on  behalf  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Colony,  and,  though  threatened  by  the  commandant  at 
Fort  Good  Hope,  sailed  his  sloop  past  the  fort  and  inspected 
the  land  beyond.  His  report  was  so  favorable  that  a  colony 
was  established  at  Hartford,  within  a  mile  of  the  Dutch  fort, 
whose  garrison  the  English  treated  with  derision.  One  of  the 
Dutch  complaints  reads: 

1 1  Those  of  Hartford  have  not  only  usurped  and  taken  the 
lands  of  Connecticut,  but  have  also  beaten  the  servants  of 
their  high  mightinesses,  the  honored  Company,  with  sticks 
and  plow  staves,  laming  them." — 1640. 

For  a  humorous  account  of  this  whole  transaction,  one 
should  read  the  history  by  "Diedrich  Knickerbocker." 

Remonstrances  from  the  Dutch  followed  continuously  until 
1663,  when,  for  the  purpose  of  adjusting  the  conflicting  claims, 
Governor  Stuyvesant  went  in  person  to  Boston,  where  he 
stated  before  the  New  England  commissioners  who  had  been 
appointed  to  meet  him,  that  "he  wished  a  friendly  and 
neighborly  settlement  of  differences  concerning  Eastdorp,  by 
the  English  called  Westchester,  and  all  other  disputes,  that 
the  parties  may  live  in  peace  in  the  wilderness  where  many 
barbarous  Indians  dwell."  His  negotiations  were  fruitless, 
as  the  New  England  commissioners  demanded  more  than  his 
duty  to  his  superiors  would  permit  him  to  grant.    The  loss 


42 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


of  New  Netherland  by  the  Dutch  transferred  the  controversy 
about  the  boundary  to  their  successors,  and  the  final  settlement 
of  the  boundary  line  was  not  attained  between  New  York  and 
Connecticut  until  the  Congress  of  1 880-81. 

This  boundary  dispute  was  of  so  much  importance  that,  in 
the  report  submitted  to  the  States- General  and  the  Company 
by  Stuyvesant  after  the  surrender  to  Nicolls,  he  says  that  the 
unwillingness  of  the  Dutch  to  defend  the  city  was  caused 

"by  the  attempts  and  encroachments  at  the  hands  of  the 
English  in  the  preceding  year,  1663. 

"First,  through  Captain  John  Talcot's  reducing  East- 
dorp,  situate  on  the  Main,  not  two  leagues  from  New 
Netherland,  by  order  and  commission  of  the  government  at 
Hartford." 

On  March  12,  1663,  Edward  Jessup  and  John  Richardson 
of  Westchester  bought  from  nine  Indians  a  tract  of  land 
west  of  the  Bronx  River,  extending  south  to  the  East  River, 
and  northerly  to  about  the  middle  of  the  present  lower  lake 
in  Bronx  Park;  the  western  boundary  was  a  small  stream 
called  Bungay  Creek  by  the  English,  or  ' 4  Sackwrahung "  by 
the  Indians ;  the  eastern  boundary  was  the  middle  of  the  Bronx 
River.  The  tract  was  subdivided  into  twelve  farms,  and  was 
therefore  called  the  "Twelve  Farms,  "  or  since  these  lay  to  the 
west  of  Westchester,  more  commonly,  the  "West  Farms." 
By  confirmatory  patent  of  Governor  Nicolls,  dated  April  25, 
1666,  the  tract  was  divided  into  two  equal  portions  between 
the  two  original  patentees.  Jessup's  daughter  Elizabeth 
married  Thomas  Hunt  of  the  "Grove  Farm"  on  Throgg's 
Neck;  they  came  into  possession  of  the  neck  extending  into 
the  East  River,  which  thus  became  known  as  Hunt's  Point. 
This  was  by  purchase  from  "Robert  Bcachem  and  Elizabeth, 
formerly  the  wife  of  Edward  Jessup,  "  of  "all  those  hoeing  lands 


Under  the  Dutch 


43 


and  accommodations  that  were  formerly  Edward  Jessup's." 
The  deed  is  dated  June  20,  1668. 

In  the  southwest  corner  of  the  West  Farms  strip,  was  a 
small  tract  whose  ownership  was  in  dispute  between  the  heirs 
of  the  patentees  and  the  Morrises  from  1666  to  1740,  when 
the  manor-lord  0"  Morrisania  obtained  possession.  As  there 
were  a  number  of  streams  in  that  locality,  the  question  arose 
as  to  which  was  the  Sackwrahung.  The  West  Farms  people 
claimed  that  it  was  Bungay  Creek,  or  Brook;  Colonel  Morris, 
that  it  was  the  stream  to  the  eastward,  called  Wigwam  Brook, 
and  later,  Leggett's  Creek  and  Bound  Brook.  The  disputed 
strip  was  long  known  as  the  "debatable  land." 

From  ihe  preceding  accounts  of  the  grants  during  Dutch 
possession,  it  will  be  seen  that  comparatively  little  was  done 
in  the  way  of  development.  A  settlement  grew  at  Harlem 
on  Manhattan  Island,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  some  of  the 
farmers  occupied  land  on  the  mainland.  Thus  we  have  the 
court  records  of  a  dispute  in  1683,  with  the  Jan  sen  brothers 
and  Daniel  Turneur  as  plaintiffs  against  Colonel  Lewis  Morris, 
for  four  lots  of  meadow  land  at  Stony  Island,  now  Port  Morris, 
which  they  had  cultivated  under  previous  owners  of  Broncks- 
land.  The  plaintiffs  were  inhabitants  of  Harlem.  They 
lost  their  first  suit,  when  the  Jansens  withdrew.  Turneur 
then  entered  suit  alone  against  Colonel  Morris,  and  was 
finally  successful  in  proving  ownership  to  the  disputed  land. 

The  oppressive  rule  of  the  Dutch  irritated  their  Indian 
neighbors  to  such  a  pitch  that  the  desire  of  retaliation  over- 
came their  fear  of  the  Five  Nations,  the  friends  and  allies  of 
the  Dutch,  and  thrice  within  twenty  years,  in  1655,  1658,  and 
1663,  the  Weckquaesgeeks,  the  Siwanoys,  and  the  Manhattans 
went  on  the  warpath  with  their  kindred  Mohegans  in  New 
Jersey  and  Long  Island.    The  massacres  and  outrages  per- 


44 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


petrated  on  both  sides  were  horrible;  if  anything,  the  Dutch 
were  the  more  savage  of  the  two.  In  vain  did  Stuyvesant, 
after  the  Indian  troubles  of  1655,  order  the  settlers  to  form 
towns  after  the  English  fashion,  an  order  not  carried  out  for 
years,  except  in  the  case  of  Esopus.  These  repeated  Indian 
wars  no  doubt  retarded  settlement  to  some  extent,  though 
English  from  both  Virginia  and  New  England  came  into  the 
colony,  as  well  as  the  Walloons  from  Europe. 

The  conditions  during  Dutch  rule  are  well  summed  up  by 
the  historian  Eliot,  who  says: 

"Had  the  wars  never  occurred,  the  colony  would  have 
made  no  rapid  progress.  In  itself  it  was  divided  by  what 
may  be  called  castes.  The  patroons,  for  instance,  were  an 
order  by  themselves,  not  necessarily  hostile  to  the  au- 
thorities nor  unfriendly  to  the  colonists,  yet  often  prov- 
ing to  be  one  or  both.  Then  the  colony  lay  at  the  mercy 
of  the  company  and  its  director,  whose  supremacy  was 
shared  by  none  but  a  few  officials  and  councillors.  The 
attempts  at  representation  on  the  part  of  the  more  substantial 
colonists  were  of  no  avail.  The  colony  was  still  a  colony  of 
traders.  No  generous  views,  no  manly  energies,  were  as  yet 
excited  among  its  inhabitants  or  its  rulers.  From  the  slave 
to  the  colonist,  from  the  colonist  to  the  patroon,  from  the 
patroon  to  the  director,  and  even  from  the  director  to  the 
company,  there  was  little  besides  struggling  for  pecuniary 
advantage.  It  was  esteemed  a  great  era  in  the  colony  when, 
after  various  dissensions,  in  1638,  its  trade  was  nominally 
thrown  open.  But  the  percentages  to  the  company  were 
such  as  to  prevent  any  really  free  trade." 


\ 


CHAPTER  III 

UNDER  THE  LORD  PROPRIETOR,  1664-1685 

IN  the  last  chapter,  there  have  been  stated  the  causes  of 
the  dissensions  which  arose  between  the  English  and 
the  Dutch :  first,  the  explorations  of  the  earlier  naviga- 
tors of  both  nations ;  secondly,  the  active  spirit  of  settlement 
of  the  English  and  their  encroachments  upon  the  territory  of 
the  Dutch.  At  no  time  did  the  population  of  New  Netherland 
exceed  ten  thousand  souls;  and  a  feeble  and  scattered  colony 
of  traders  was  bound  to  go  to  the  wall  in  a  conflict  with  its 
energetic  and  pushing  neighbors,  not  only  on  the  east  but  to 
the  south.  The  influx  of  English  on  Long  Island  and  other 
parts  of  the  colony,  even  in  New  Amsterdam  itself,  had,  by 
1664,  raised  the  ratio  of  foreigners  to  Dutch  as  six  to  one. 
Long  and  bitter  as  were  the  disputes  between  New  Netherland 
and  her  neighbors,  and  voluminous  as  were  the  reports  and 
complaints  to  their  high  mightinesses,  the  States- General  and 
the  Company,  the  mother  countries  were  not  embroiled  in 
the  contentions  of  their  offspring;  while  a  war  of  two  years, 
1652-1654,  between  the  Commonwealth  and  the  Netherlands, 
did  not  involve  their  American  settlements. 

In  1660,  came  the  Restoration,  and  Charles  II.  ascended 
the  English  throne.  A  war  with  Holland  was  decided  upon, 
partly  for  commercial  and  partly  for  political  reasons,  the 

45 


46  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


chief  of  the  latter  being  the  intimate  relations  which  existed 
between  the  French  and  the  Dutch.  Before  the  war  had  begun, 
on  March  23,  1664,  Charles,  by  royal  patent,  vested  in  his 
brother,  the  Duke  of  York  and  Albany,  the  Dutch  province 
of  New  Netherland.  The  grant  made  the  Duke  proprietor  of 
the  province,  "to  be  holden  of  the  crown  in  free  and  common 
socage,  as  of  the  manor  of  East  Greenwich  in  the  County  of 
Kent, "  and  not  in  feudal,  or  knight  service.  It  took  the  new 
proprietor  but  a  short  time  to  buy  out  the  other  English 
claimants  and  to  collect  commissioners  and  troops  to  take 
possession  of  his  new  property.  The  expedition  consisted  of 
four  ships  of  war  and  four  hundred  and  fifty  land  troops, 
the  whole  under  command  of  Colonel  Richard  Nicolls,  who 
was  accompanied  by  Governor  John  Winthrop  of  Connecti- 
cut. The  expedition  was  not  a  national  one  in  any  sense,  but 
was  entirely  individual  and  personal  to  the  Duke  of  York. 
In  fact,  it  was  at  first  disavowed  by  the  English  Government ; 
but  by  the  Treaty  of  Breda,  in  1667,  Holland  was  obliged  to 
submit  to  the  loss  of  her  province. 

The  fleet  appeared  off  New  Amsterdam  on  September  6, 
1664,  and  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  province.  Governor 
Stuyvesant  wished  to  resist  the  English  demand,  but  his 
councillors,  perhaps  seeing  an  end  to  the  oppressive  rule  of  the 
Company  and  its  representative,  pointed  out  to  him  the  lack 
of  forts,  guns,  troops,  and  other  necessaries  of  war,  the  superi- 
ority of  the  English,  and  the  futility  of  attempting  to  stay 
the  inevitable;  so  that  the  doughty  and  fiery  old  soldier  was 
compelled  to  accept  Nicolls's  terms  of  surrender.  These 
were  exceedingly  generous;  the  Dutch  were  promised  the  free 
exercise  of  their  own  religion,  their  laws  of  inheritance,  and 
their  trade  and  intercourse  with  Holland;  in  fact,  the  former 
state  of  affairs  was  interfered  with  as  little  as  possible,  except 


Under  the  Lord  Proprietor,  1664-1685  47 


that  the  inhabitants  were  obliged  to  swear  allegiance  to  the 
lord  proprietor. 

With  the  full  extent  of  the  domain  of  the  Duke  we  have 
nothing  to  do.  By  commissioners  appointed  by  Nicolls  to 
meet  those  of  Connecticut,  it  was  decided  that  the  boundary 
between  the  two  colonies  on  the  mainland  should  start  from 
a  point  on  Long  Island  Sound  twenty  miles  from  Hudson's 
River,  and  run  northwest  till  it  met  the  Massachusetts  line. 
By  misrepresentations  on  the  part  of  the  Connecticut  commis- 
sioners, Colonel  Nicolls  was  led  to  accept  the  Mamaroneck 
River  as  the  starting-point,  only  ten  miles  east  of  the  Hud- 
son. But  the  original  agreement  of  twenty  miles  furnished 
the  basis  of  the  future  claims  of  the  lord  proprietor  and  his 
successors. 

Immediately  after  proclaiming  the  Duke  of  York  and 
Albany,  Governor  Nicolls  changed  the  name  of  the  province 
to  New  York  and  the  name  of  the  fort  on  Manhattan  to  Fort 
James  in  his  honor.  To  the  section  in  the  vicinity  of  Manhat- 
tan Island,  he  gave  the  name  of  Yorkshire;  and  in  accordance 
with  the  local  nomenclature  of  that  county  in  England, 
divided  it  into  ridings;  the  east,  the  west,  and  the  north. 
That  portion  of  the  mainland  east  of  the  Bronx  River  was 
within  the  North  Riding,  which  also  included  a  part  of  the 
present  county  of  Queens  on  Long  Island.  The  other  part 
of  the  present  Borough,  west  of  the  Bronx  River,  was  within 
the  government  of  the  city  of  New  York  and  Harlem.  This 
connection  between  Long  Island  and  Westchester  County 
lasted  for  many  years,  as  the  earlier  Constitutions  of  the 
State  apportioned  one  senator  to  this  district.  As  a  judicial 
district  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  State,  it  lasted  until 
1906,  when,  by  Constitutional  amendment,  the  Westchester 
portion  of  the  ancient  riding  was  joined  with  Putnam, 


1 


48 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Dutchess,  and  Rockland  counties  to  form  a  new  supreme 
court  district. 

Let  us  take  a  brief  glance  at  the  land  on  the  main  at  the 
time  of  the  English  occupation.  On  the  west,  lying  between 
the  Hudson  and  the  Bronx  rivers,  was  Colen  Donck;  next 
came  " Brouncksland, "  between  the  Harlem  and  the  Bronx; 
next  to  the  eastward  came  the  West  Farms ;  east  of  this  tract 
was  Cornell's  Neck;  adjoining  it  on  the  north  was  Oostdorp, 
or  Westchester;  beyond,  on  the  Sound,  was  Throgg's  Neck; 
and  north  of  Westchester  was  Pell's  purchase  of  1654.  A 
portion  of  the  Keskeskeck  purchase  of  1639  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  taken  up.  A  conveyance  of  Pell,  June  24,  1664, 
though  made  during  the  Dutch  regime,  will  be  taken  up 
later. 

The  only  settlement,  or  town,  in  the  whole  district  was 
Westchester;  and  the  settlers  here  had  an  agreement  with 
Pell,  who  claimed  to  the  East  River,  by  which  they  were  to  pay 
him  a  certain  annual  quit-rent.  This  they  failed  to  do;  and 
in  acknowledgment  of  his  right,  on  June  14,  1664,  they  surren- 
dered into  his  hands  all  right,  title,  and  interest  in  the  lands. 
This  was  altogether  an  odd  transaction;  as  at  the  time  of  it 
they  were  sworn  to  allegiance  to  the  Dutch,  whose  juris- 
diction they  acknowledged.  But  being  Connecticut  men, 
they  were  probably  inclined  to  further  the  claim  of  their 
mother  colony  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  which  they  could  do 
better  by  admitting  Pell's  supremacy  than  by  upholding 
the  claim  of  the  Dutch. 

Colonel  Nicolls  was  an  excellent  governor,  fair,  just,  and 
tactful,  who  not  only  looked  after  the  interests  of  the  proprie- 
tor, but  also  protected  and  advanced  the  interests  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  colony.  One  of  his  earliest  acts  was  to  call  an 
assembly  of  delegates  from  the  several  towns,  which  met  at 


Under  the  Lord  Proprietor,  1664-1685  49 


Hempstead,  Long  Island,  during  the  summer  of  1665  and 
enacted  the  celebrated  code  known  as  the  "Duke's  Laws." 
The  principal  thing  to  be  done  was  to  secure  to  the  land- 
owners indisputable  possession  of  their  holdings,  which  might 
be  placed  in  doubt  in  the  change  in  ownership  from  the 
Company  to  the  proprietor,  and  the  consequent  change  of 
allegiance.  All  holders  of  land  grants,  farms,  patents,  or 
houses  were  required  to  bring  to  the  Governor  their  deeds 
from  the  Dutch  Company,  and  new  ones  were  issued  in  the 
name  of  the  Duke  of  York.  A  charge  of  two  shillings  and 
sixpence  was  made  for  every  hundred  acres  of  land.  The 
Dutch  readily  acquiesced  in  the  new  regulations,  but  the  Long 
Islanders,  who  claimed  to  hold  from  Connecticut,  showed 
themselves  unwilling  to  acknowledge  the  Duke's  authority 
over  them. 

We  have  already  referred  to  Thomas  Pell's  purchase  of 
1654,  and  to  his  claim  of  ownership  of  Westchester,  which 
was  admitted  by  the  settlers  there.  He  now  advanced  the 
claim  to  all  the  land  eastward  of  the  Bronx  River,  as  far  as 
Richbell's  purchase  at  Mamaroneck,  and  southward  to  the 
East  River,  by  virtue  of  the  Indian  cession  to  him  and  the 
confirmation  of  his  purchase  by  the  Connecticut  authorities. 
He  even  tried  to  oust  Mrs.  Bridges,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Cornell,  from  her  property  at  Cornell's  Neck,  which  she  had 
inherited  from  her  father.  She  and  her  husband  enjoined  Pell 
from  interfering  with  them  or  their  property,  and  the  case 
was  tried  before  a  jury,  September  29,  1665.  Pell  set  up  the 
defence  that  the  Dutch  had  no  right  to  the  land  in  question, 
that  it  belonged  to  Connecticut,  and  therefore  the  Dutch 
could  not  give  away  what  they  did  not  own,  and  that  the 
grond  brief  of  1646  to  Cornell  was  invalid.  In  reply,  the 
plaintiffs  quoted  the  terms  of  surrender  as  agreed  to  by  Colonel 


50 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Nicolls,  and  the  further  instructions  of  the  king  confirming 
any  grant  or  conveyance  made  by  the  Dutch.  The  jury 
found  for  the  plaintiffs,  giving  sixpence  damages.  The  sheriff 
of  the  "North  Riding  of  Long  Island"  was  ordered  by  the 
court  to  put  the  plaintiffs  in  possession  of  their  land  and  to 
restrain  any  one  from  interfering  with  "their  peaceable  or 
quiet  enjoyment  thereof."  The  case  was  a  very  important 
one,  not  on  account  of  the  damages  sustained  or  awarded, 
but  for  the  principle  involved.  It  validated  under  English 
law  every  land  grant,  conveyance,  deed,  or  patent  given  by 
the  Company  or  its  officers,  and  secured  to  every  holder  of 
land  under  such  circumstances  the  peaceful,  absolute,  and 
indisputable  possession  of  his  lot,  farm,  or  tract. 

On  June  24,  1664,  three  months  before  the  surrender,  Pell 
granted  to  James  Eustis,  Philip  Pinckney,  John  Tompkins, 
Moses  Hoit,  Samuel  Drake,  Andrew  Ward,  Walter  Lancaster, 
Nathaniel  Tompkins,  and  Samuel  Ward,  "to  the  number  of 
ten  families,  to  settle  down  at  Hutchinsons,  that  is  where  the 
house  stood  at  the  meadows  and  uplands,  to  Hutchinson's 
River,  they  paying  according  to  ye  proportion  of  the  charges 
which  was  disburst  for  the  purchase,  and  other  necessary 
charges,  etc."  They  were  all  Connecticut  men  from  Fair- 
field; and,  in  1665,  drew  up  a  covenant  for  their  guidance, 
for  the  establishment  of  neighborly  feeling  among  themselves 
and  for  the  prevention  of  disputes.  It  consisted  of  twenty- 
six  articles:  "Imprimis,  that  we  by  the  grace  of  God,  sitt 
down  on  the  track  of  land  lieing  betwixt  Huthesson's  broock, 
whear  the  house  was,  untell  it  com  unto  the  river,  that  runeth 
in  at  the  head  of  the  meados. "  The  tenor  of  the  rest  of  the 
articles  might  furnish  a  basis  for  a  communal  society,  so  excel- 
lent are  they  as  to  church,  education,  division  of  the  land, 
arbitration  of  disputes,  and  public  improvements. 


Under  the  Lord  Proprietor,  1664-1685  51 


The  settlement  became  known  as  the  "Ten  Farms, "and 
later,  as  Eastchester,  because  it  lay  to  the  eastward  of  West- 
chester. In  1666,  the  settlers  bought  more  land  from  the 
Indians,  who  confirmed,  at  the  same  time,  the  previous  sale 
of  1654  to  Pell.  The  Mohegan  sachems  who  signed  the  deed 
were  Grama  tan,  Woariatapus,  Annhooke  (alias  Wampage), 
and  Porrige.  The  sachem  Wampage,  or  Annhooke,  was 
probably  the  slayer  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  as  it  was  not 
unusual  among  the  aborigines  to  assume  the  name  of  the 
slain,  due  probably,  to  a  superstitious  belief  that  by  so 
doing  the  dead  would  be  propitiated  or  that  the  good 
qualities  of  the  slain,  especially  courage,  would  enter  into  the 
slayer. 

In  1667,  the  settlers,  for  the  further  insurance  of  their  title, 
procured  from  Governor  Nicolls  a  patent  confirming  them 
in  their  possessions.    It  reads: 

"Whereas,  there  is  a  certain  plantation  upon  ye  main, 
lying  within  ye  limits  and  bounds  of  Westchester,  belong- 
ing to  ye  north  riding  of  Yorkshire,  upon  Long  Island,  sit- 
uate and  being  in  ye  north  part  of  ye  limits  of  ye  said 
town,  which  plantation  is  commonly  known  and  called  by 
ye  name  of  The  Ten  Farms,  or  Eastchester,  and  is  now 
in  the  tenure  and  occupation  of  several  free-holders  and 
inhabitants,  .  .  .  know  yee,  by  virtue  of  ye  commission 
and  authority  unto  me  given  by  his  royal  highness,  I  have 
ratified,  confirmed,  and  granted  .  .  .  unto  Philip  Pinckney, 
James  Eustis,  and  William  Hayden,  ...  all  ye  said  plan- 
tation .  .  .viz:  that  is  to  say,  bounded  to  the  east  and  ye 
northeast  by  a  certain  river,  commonly  called  Hutchinson's 
River,  which  runs  in  at  ye  head  of  ye  meadow,  and  is  ye 
west  bounds  of  Mr.  Pell's  patent,  to  ye  south-east  to  a 
certain  creek  the  mouth  whereof  openeth  to  ye  south-east, 
then  including  ye  meadows  heretofore  called  Hutchinson's 
Meadows,  and  ye,  upland,  to  ye  now  knowne  and  common 


52 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


pathway  coming  up  from  Westchester,  to  take  in  also  of 
ye  uplands  betweene  Hutchinson's  and  Rattlesnake  Brooke, 
from  the  said  path  to  ye  extent  of  half  a  mile  north-west 
for  them  to  plant,  or  otherwise  to  manure,  as  they  shall  see 
cause;  ye  remainder  to  lye  in  common  between  them  and 
ye  inhabitants  of  Westchester,  at  ye  end  of  which  half- 
mile  to  be  bounded  by  Rattlesnake  Brooke,  tell  ye  come 
to  ye  head  thereof;  from  thence  striking  a  northeast  line 
to  Hutchinson's  River  afore-mentioned  .  .  .  and  ye  said 
patentees  and  their  associates  .  .  .  shall  likewise  have  free 
commonage  and  liberty  for  range  of  feed  for  cattle,  from 
ye  head  of  Hutchinson's  Brook  aforesaid,  for  about  eight 
English  miles;  to  run  northwest  into  ye  woods  as  far  as 
Bronck's  River  .  .  .  likewise  they  shall  have  ye  privilege 
of  electing  out  of  their  owne  number  some  discreet  per- 
son, who  shall  be  elected  yearly  to  the  office  of  a  deputy 
constable,  to  keep  his  majesties  peace,  and  to  compose,  if 
possible,  all  private  differences  by  arbitration  amongst  them- 
selves, but  that  in  all  other  matters  they  have  relation  to 
ye  towne  and  court  of  Westchester.  ..."  The  patent 
is  dated:  "ye  ninth  day  of  March  ...  in  ye  year  of  our 
Lord  God,  1667." 

The  author  gives  the  patent  to  show  the  phraseology  in 
which  all  of  them  are  couched,  and  especially  to  show  the 
indefmiteness  of  the  metes  and  bounds  of  the  land  granted. 
It  is  almost  impossible  to  locate  with  accuracy  any  of  the 
early  grants,  as  the  landmarks  in  many  cases  have  disappeared 
entirely,  or  else  have  lost  their  identity  with  the  passing  of 
many  generations — what  is  known  by  all  of  one  generation 
may  be  known  by  none  of  the  next. 

In  a  case  arising  in  1909,  wherein  the  Mount  Vernon  Sub- 
urban Land  Company  petitioned  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Sinking  Fund  of  New  York  City  for  a  release  of  the  land 
under  water  in  Eastchester  Creek,  this  Nicolls  patent  and  a 


Under  the  Lord  Proprietor,  166+-1685  53 


confirmatory  patent,  given  by  Governor  Lord  Cornbury  in 
1708,  were  filed  with  the  controller  of  the  city. 

From  a  number  of  items  in  the  town  records,  it  seems  that 
there  were  numbers  of  rattlesnakes,  and  that,  occasionally, 
the  settlers  took  a  day  off  to  go  out  and  kill  them.  Wolves 
were  so  numerous  that  wolf  pits  were  constructed,  and  it  was 
enacted  "that  ye  inhabitants  do  see  to  fill  them  up."  In 
1679,  it  was  decided  by  vote  that  the  inhabitants  pay  ten 
shillings  for  every  wolf  that  is  killed  within  the  limits  of 
Eastchester.  Later,  by  act  of  the  Provincial  Assembly,  the 
reward  for  killing  a  full-grown  wolf  was  thirty  shillings  to  a 
Christian,  and  ten  shillings  to  an  Indian,  and  half  as  much 
for  a  whelp.  Deer  and  bear  were  plentiful,  and  hunts  in  the 
Long  Reach  patent — "ye  eight  English  miles  to  run  north- 
west into  ye  woods  as  far  as  Bronck's  River" — sometimes 
lasted  for  a  month  at  a  time.  The  indefiniteness  of  boundary 
lines  led,  at  a  later  date,  to  disputes  with  both  Westchester 
and  Pell. 

On  October  6,  1666,  a  large  part  of  Pell's  purchase  of  1654 
was  confirmed  to  him  by  Governor  Nicolls  by  patent: 

"and  that  the  said  tract  of  land  and  premises  shall  be  forever 
hereafter  held,  deemed,  reputed,  taken  and  be  an  enfranchised 
township,  manor,  and  place  itself  ...  as  if  he  had  held  the 
same  immediately  from  his  majesty  the  King  of  England, 
etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  his  successors,  as  of  the  manor  of  East  Green- 
wich, in  the  county  of  Kent,  in  free  and  common  socage  and 
by  fealty  only,  yielding,  rendering,  and  paying,  yearly  and 
every  year  .  .  .  one  lamb  upon  the  first  of  May,  if  the  same 
shall  be  demanded." 

As  this  was  the  first  of  the  manors  which  played  so  import- 
ant a  part  in  the  history  of  the  State,  a  brief  explanation  of  a 
manor  may  not  be  amiss.    Under  the  feudal  system,  which 


54 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


was  introduced  into  England  later  and  was  eradicated  from 
there  earlier  than  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  lands  were 
granted  to  knights  as  payment  for  military  services  and  on 
condition  that  such  military  service  should  be  forthcoming 
upon  the  demand  of  the  sovereign  or  over-lord  from  whom  such 
lands  were  held.  From  a  variety  of  sources,  including  the 
multiplication  of  such  fiefs,  their  subdivision,  their  inheritance 
by  females  incapable  of  military  service,  and  what  not,  there 
was  enacted  a  law  in  1290,  during  the  reign  of  Edward  I., 
which  put  an  end  to  the  formation  of  new  military  manors 
forever.  In  the  old  Saxon  kingdom  of  Kent,  which  became 
the  county  of  Kent  under  the  Normans,  there  was  the  manor 
of  East  Greenwich,  which  was  held  of  the  crown  in  free  and 
common  socage.  By  "free  and  common  socage"  is  meant 
fealty  to  the  king,  or  over-lord,  and  the  payment  at  fixed 
intervals  or  upon  fixed  occasions  of  a  certain  service,  as  op- 
posed to  uncertain,  or  military,  service.  This  certain  service 
might  take  the  form  of  a  yearly  payment  of  money,  of  some 
article,  of  a  fixed  quantity  of  grain  or  other  produce,  of  pelts, 
of  ploughing  so  many  acres  or  for  so  many  days,  and  so  on. 
At  the  time  of  the  coronation  of  an  English  king,  we  find  many 
claims  advanced  by  English  gentlemen — one  furnishes  so 
many  napkins  for  the  royal  table;  another  holds  the  basin 
for  the  king  to  wash  his  hands ;  another,  the  towel  to  dry  them ; 
another  provides  a  pigeon  pie  or  venison  pasty  for  the  banquet ; 
another  holds  the  king's  stirrup  when  he  mounts  his  horse  to 
ride  to  Westminster  to  be  crowned;  another,  when  he  returns. 
All  of  these,  and  many  more,  are  really  the  services  to  be 
rendered  for  the  possession  of  the  manors  in  England ;  and  the 
question  might  legally  arise  whether  the  manor-lords  have  not 
forfeited  their  rights  to  their  manors  by  a  failure  to  perform 
such  service,  unless  the  king,  by  his  failure  to  accept  such 


Under  the  Lord  Proprietor,  1664-1685  55 


service,  abrogates  his  right  to  it  and  withdraws  the  necessity. 
Thus,  in  Pell's  patent,  it  states  that  he  has  to  pay  a  lamb 
every  year,  "if  the  same  shall  be  demanded." 

The  Duke  of  York  himself  held  his  proprietary  "in  free  and 
common  socage  as  of  our  manor  of  East  Greenwich  in  our 
county  of  Kent ' ' ;  and  in  his  case  the  yearly  quit-rent  consisted 
of  "forty  beaver  skins  when  they  shall  be  demanded,  or  in 
ninety  days  after." 

The  manor-lord,  or  lord  of  the  manor,  as  he  was  variously 
called,  was  subject  to  the  general  laws  and  to  the  proprietor 
and  his  representative,  the  governor;  but  otherwise  he  was 
fairly  absolute  within  his  manor,  though  he  did  not  have  the 
power  of  life  and  death,  as  is  sometimes  popularly  supposed; 
nor  was  he  entitled  to  the  address  of  "lord";  though  it  has 
often  been  improperly  bestowed,  and  we  read  of  "Lord" 
Pell,  "Lord"  Morris,  or  "Lord"  Philipse.  The  manor-lord, 
or  his  steward,  had  the  power  to  hold  a  baron's  court  and  a 
leet  court  to  settle  the  differences  arising  within  his  manor; 
and  his  tenants  were  bound  to  appear  before  these  courts. 
They  were,  however,  exempt  from  jury  duty  with  the  other 
inhabitants  outside  of  the  manors;  but  they  came  under  the 
militia  laws  and  formed  their  own  companies  within  the  bounds 
of  the  manors. 

The  manor-lord  could  do  what  he  pleased  with  his  lands; 
rent  them,  sell  them,  mortgage  them,  give  them  away,  and 
leave  them  as  he  pleased  at  his  death.  He  controlled  the 
hunting,  hawking,  fishing,  lumbering,  milling,  mining,  etc., 
except  of  precious  metals,  within  his  domain;  and,  in  several 
cases,  he  had  the  appointment  of  ministers  of  the  gospel, 
the  right  of  advowson,  or,  as  it  is  popularly  termed  in  England, 
the  living. 

The  bounds  of  the  manor  of  Pelham  are  fairly  well  defined. 


56  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


It  comprised  9166  acres,  of  which  6100  acres  were  bought 
by  Governor  Leisler  in  1688  for  the  Huguenot  settlement  of 
New  Rochelle,  now  the  city  of  that  name  in  Westchester 
County.  The  middle  portion  of  the  manor  is  now  the  town- 
ship of  Pelham  in  the  same  county.  The  southern  portion, 
including  City,  Hunter,  and  Hart  islands,  is  now  a  part  of  the 
Borough;  and  nearly  all  of  it,  except  City  and  Hart  islands, 
is  within  the  limits  of  Pelham  Bay  Park. 

Thomas  Pell  died  at  Fairfield,  Connecticut,  in  September, 
1669,  and  by  will  devised  "his  lands  and  houses  in  any  part 
of  New  England,  or  in  ye  territoryes  of  ye  Duke  of  York," 
to  his  nephew,  John  Pell  of  Old  England,  the  only  son  of  his 
only  brother,  John  Pell,  D.D.  The  second  lord  of  the  manor, 
the  John  Pell  of  Old  England,  is  said  to  have  been  drowned  off 
City  Island  by  the  upsetting  of  his  boat  in  a  squall. 

Of  the  earliest  settlement  at  Westchester  mention  has  al- 
ready been  made.  The  English  name  is  derived  from  the 
town  of  Chester,  the  site  of  an  ancient  Roman  camp.  As  one 
ancient  writer  remarks:  "The  name  of  Westchester  is  well 
chosen,  as  it  is  the  westernmost  of  the  Connecticut  settle- 
ments. "  The  Dutch  named  it  Oostdorp,  or  East-town,  because 
it  was  the  easternmost  of  the  Dutch  settlements ;  so  the  reader 
may  take  his  choice. 

Pell's  possession  of  Westchester  by  the  surrender  to  him  of 
their  rights  by  the  inhabitants,  June  16,  1664,  did  not  last 
long,  for  on  February  15,  1667,  Governor  Nicolls  granted  to 
John  Ferris,  John  Quimby,  and  others,  the  land  bounded  on 
the  west  by  Bronk's  land,  on  the  south  by  the  Sound  and 
East  River;  on  the  east  "by  a  certain  neck  of  land,  commonly 
called  Ann  Hook's  Neck  or  Mr.  Pell's  purchase";  and  north- 
erly "into  the  woods  without  limitation  for  range  of  cattle 
or  other  improvements."  Further,  there  were  ratified,  granted, 


Under  the  Lord  Proprietor,  1664-1685  57 

and  confirmed  unto  the  said  patentees,  "all  ye  rights  and 
privileges  belonging  to  a  town  within  this  government. "  We 
thus  see  that  this  grant  contained  originally  what  has  already 
been  described  as  Eastchester;  but  the  latter  was  separated 
from  Westchester  by  the  patent,  already  given  on  page  51 
of  the  date  of  March  9,  1667,  one  month  later.  During  the 
whole  of  the  Colonial  period  there  was  the  closest  connection 
between  the  two  places  in  many  matters. 

The  expression,"  Ann  Hook's,"  or  "  Ann-hooke's,"or  "  Annes 
hooke's  Neck,"  which  continually  appears  in  these  patents 
and  land  grants,  is  peculiar  in  its  form.  Mrs.  Hutchinson's 
first  name  was  Ann,  or  Anne ;  hence  the  Dutch  called  the  neck 
of  land  upon  which  she  resided,  Annes  Hoeck,  *.  e.,  Ann's 
Neck.  Why  the  English  should  make  any  such  combination 
as  Ann  Hook's  Neck  in  their  legal  papers  it  is  hard  to  say, 
unless  the  authorities  were  confused  by  the  popular  and  vulgar 
nomenclature. 

In  1673,  the  Dutch  once  more  obtained  possession  of  New 
York,  and  we  find  the  inhabitants  of  Westchester  and  of  the 
adjacent  hamlet  of  Eastchester  offering  to  submit  themselves 
to  their  high  mightinesses,  the  States-General  and  the  Prince 
of  Orange.  Their  submission  was  accepted  by  Governor 
Colve,  and  they  were  authorized  to  elect  three  magistrates, 
two  for  Westchester  and  one  for  Eastchester,  "who  in  his 
village  may  decide  all  differences  to  the  value  of  thirty  shil- 
ling; those  of  higher  value  shall  be  determined  by  the  whole 
college  in  the  village  of  Westchester  aforesaid. " 

April  15,  1667,  Governor  Nicolls  confirmed  to  William 
Willett,  a  grandson  of  Thomas  Cornell  and  son  of  Sarah 
Cornell  by  her  first  husband,  the  original  tract  known  as  Cor- 
nell's Neck,  or  Black  Rock. 

In  1662,  Governor  Stuyvesant  had  granted  to  the  English 


58 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


towns  of  Long  Island  and  Westchester  the  right  to  nominate 
their  own  magistrates  and  to  hold  their  own  courts;  "bat 
in  dark  and  dubious  matters,  especially  in  witchcraft,  the  party 
aggrieved  might  appeal  to  the  Governor  and  council. "  That 
the  inhabitants  of  Westchester  were  as  firm  believers  in  the 
practice  of  the  black  art  as  their  fellow-Englishmen  in  New 
England  is  shown  by  the  case  of  Katherine  Harry  son,  an 
Englishwoman  who  had  lived  in  Wethersfield  for  nineteen 
years  when  she  was  accused  of  witchcraft,  "found  guilty  by  the 
jury  but  acquitted  by  the  bench, "  with  the  proviso  that  she 
remove  from  the  town.  In  1670,  she  came  to  Westchester. 
Thomas  Hunt  and  Edward  Waters,  on  behalf  of  the  town, 
appeared  against  her  in  court,  praying  that  she  be  removed 
from  the  town.  The  case  was  heard  on  the  fourth  of  August, 
the  woman  being  released  on  bail  for  her  good  behavior. 
In  October,  the  court  decided : 

"It  is  ordered,  that  in  regard  there  is  nothing  appears 
against  her  deserving  the  continuance  of  that  obligation  [i.e., 
bail  for  good  behavior],  she  is  to  be  released  from  it,  and 
hath  liberty  to  remove  from  the  town  of  Westchester  where 
she  now  resides,  or  anywhere  else  in  the  Government  during 
her  pleasure. " 

Notwithstanding  the  humane  efforts  of  the  court  to  pro- 
tect the  poor  widow,  an  order  was  issued  soon  after  for 
Katherine  Harryson,  charged  with  witchcraft,  to  leave  West- 
chester, "as  the  inhabitants  are  uneasy  at  her  residing  there 
and  she  is  ordered  to  go  off."  She  was  therefore  returned 
to  Wethersfield,  as  Westchester  did  not  propose  to  support 
the  paupers  of  other  places.  In  the  town  records  is  her  re- 
ceipt  to  Joseph  Palmer  for  thirteen  pounds  in  money  for  her 
expenses. 


Under  the  Lord  Proprietor,  1664-1685  59 


We  return  now  to  Colen  Donck.  Some  time  before  1666, 
the  widow  of  Adrien  Van  der  Donck  married  Hugh  O'Neale 
of  Patuxent,  Maryland,  and  went  there  to  live.  On  Septem- 
ber 21,  1666, 

"came  Hugh  O'Neale  and  Mary  his  wife  (who  in  right  of 
her  former  husband  laid  claime  to  a  certn  parcele  of  land 
upon  the  Maine  not  farre  from  Westchester,  commonly  called 
the  Younckers  land),  who  bro't  severall  Indyans  before 
the  govr  to  acknowledge  the  purchase  of  said  lands  by  van 
der  Donck  commonly  called  ye  Youncker.  .  .  .  Tackarack, 
.  .  .  Claes,  .  .  .  received  satisfactn  of  Van  Der  Donck.  All 
the  rest  of  the  Indyans  present  being  seven  or  eight  acknow- 
ledged to  have  recd  full  satisfaction. " 

The  proof  of  possession  by  Indian  title  being  thus  before 
Governor  Nicolls,  he  issued  to  Mary  and  Hugh  O'Neale  as 
joint  patentees,  under  date  of  October  8,  1666,  a  confirmatory 
grant  of  Nepperhaem.  As  the  descriptions  of  the  bounds  of 
the  grant  are  the  same  in  the  Indians'  acknowledgment,  in 
the  confirmatory  patent  and  in  the  original  Dutch  grant  of 
1646,  we  must  conclude  that  the  property  was  intact  as  Van 
der  Donck  bought  it  and  as  he  left  it  at  his  death.  On  October 
thirtieth,  of  the  same  year,  the  two  patentees  transferred 
their  right,  title,  and  interest  in  the  grant  to  Elias  Doughty 
of  Long  Island,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  O'Neale,  and  then  rewurned 
to  Maryland. 

Doughty  began  to  sell  the  land  in  parcels  to  different  pur- 
chasers in  fee.  The  first  sale  was  made  March  1,  1667,  to 
Jan  Arcer,  or  John  Archer,  of  eighty  acres  of  upland  and  thirty 
acres  of  meadow,  "betwixt  Broncx  river  &  ye  watering  place 
at  ye  end  of  ye  Island  of  Manhattans. "  June  7,  1668,  Doughty 
sold  320  acres  to  John  Heddy,  or  Hadden, — this  is  now  a  part 
of  Van  Cortlandt  Park.    On  July  6,  1668,  Doughty  sold  to 


6o 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


George  Tippett  [also  spelt  Tippit  and  Tibbett]  and  William 
Betts, 

"a  parcell  of  land  &  meadow  .  .  .  formerly  owned  by  old 
Youncker  [sic]  van  der  Donck,  which  runs  west  to  Hudson's 
river  &  east  to  Broncks  River,  with  all  the  upland  from 
Broncks  River  south  to  Westchester  Path,  &  so  runs  due  east, 
and  north  beginning  at  the  boggy  swamp  with°  the  liberty 
of  the  said  Patent,  &  the  southernmost  bound  to  run  by  the 
path  that  runneth  and  lyeth  by  the  north  end  of  the  aforesaid 
swamp,  &  so  run  due  east  to  Broncks  River,  &  due  west  to 
the  meadow  which  cometh  to  the  wading  place. " 

On  December  I,  1670,  a  third  parcel  of  Colen  Donck  was  sold 
to  Francis  French  and  Ebenezer  Jones  of  Ann  Hook's  Neck  and 
John  Westcott  of  Jamaica,  Long  Island — this  is  the  tract  known 
as  the  Mile  Square  in  the  city  of  Yonkers,  famous  in  Revolu- 
tionary annals.  Later,  Doughty  sold  the  northern  portions 
of  the  patent  to  Dame  Margaret  Philipse  and  Dirk  Smith. 
Finally,  September  29,1672,  he  sold  the  remainder  of  the  tract 
consisting  of  7708  acres,  to  Frederick  Philipse,  Thomas 
Delavall,  and  Thomas  Lewis. 

Jan  Arcer,  the  first  purchaser  from  Doughty,  was  probably 
an  inhabitant  of  Westchester,  as  the  name  appears  in  the 
records  of  that  town.  He  was  probably  of  Dutch  extraction, 
though  Bolton  gives  an  elaborate  genealogy  of  him  from 
Fulbert  L'Archer,  one  of  the  companions  of  William  the 
Conqueror.  Having  married  an  English  wife,  Arcer's  name 
was  anglicized  into  Archer.  In  addition  to  the  Doughty 
tract,  he  acquired  other  lands  from  the  Indians  to  the  westward 
of  the  Bronx;  and  was  such  a  land-grabber  that  the  Dutch 
nicknamed  him  Koopall,  or  "Buy  all."  On  the  question  of 
land,  he  might  be  appropriately  termed  the  Astor  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.    He  established  a  dorp,  or  village,  in  the 


Under  the  Lord  Proprietor,  1664-1685  61 


northwest  corner  of  his  land,  opposite  the  eastern  entrance  of 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  about  where  the  Kingsbridge  station 
of  the  Putnam  Railroad  is  now  located.  It  consisted  of  one 
street  running  north  and  south  on  the  line  of  the  present 
Kingsbridge  road  leading  to  Fordham  Heights. 

As  on  May  3,  1669,  Governor  Lovelace  gave  Archer  leave 
to  settle  sixteen  families  on  the  mainland,  "near  the  wading 
place,"  it  must  have  become  a  village  of  several  houses,  though 
not  a  vestige  of  them  remains  upon  the  site.  The  lessees  of 
the  farms  were  principally  from  Harlem;  and  it  seems  from 
the  ancient  court  records  of  that  place  that  Archer  was  almost 
continually  in  trouble  with  his  tenants  and  neighbors ;  for  on 
one  date,  September  8,  1671,  no  less  than  four  cases  were 
brought  against  him :  for  mowing  grass  on  another  man's  mea- 
dow, for  breaking  down  another's  fences,  for  throwing  the 
furniture  of  a  third  out-of-doors,  and  the  fourth,  on  general  prin- 
ciples of  trespass  and  interference.  Some  of  these  would  indi- 
cate that  there  was  some  Irish  blood  in  his  veins.  The  Harlem 
records  also  show  that  he  gave  three  mortgages  to  Cornelius 
Steenwyck,  who  appears  from  the  records  of  Westchester  Coun- 
ty to  have  advanced  money  to  other  landowners  of  the  county. 

Finally,  to  escape  the  interference  of  the  Harlem  magis- 
trates and  the  better  to  secure  his  purchases  from  Doughty 
and  the  Indians,  he  procured  from  Governor  Lovelace  a  manor 
grant  under  date  of  November  13,  1671.  The  manor  was  to 
be  held  upon  the  payment  of  an  annual  quit-rent  of  "twenty 
bushels  of  good  peas,  upon  the  first  day  of  March,  when 
it  shall  be  demanded."  The  name  given  to  the  manor  was 
Fordham;  that  is,  ham  (Saxon),  a  house,  and  Ford,  from  the 
wading  place  at  "ye  passage  commonly  called  Spiting  Devil." 
The  name  may  be  construed  as  the  houses  (village)  at  the 
ford.    The  manor  contained  1250  acres. 


62 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Archer  was  unable  to  repay  his  various  loans  from  Steen- 
wyck,  though  he  had  until  November  24,  1683,  to  do  it  in; 
and  the  manor  thus  fell  to  the  mortgagee  by  foreclosure. 
By  the  will  of  Cornelius  Steenwyck  and  Margaretta,  his 
wife,  dated  November  20,  1684,  in  which  the  former  manor- 
lord  is  spoken  of  as  "  the  late  John  Archer,"  the  whole  manor  of 
Fordham  is  left  to  the  Nether  Reformed  Dutch  Congregation 
within  the  city  of  New  York.  The  manor  was  preserved 
intact  until  1755,  when,  by  act  of  the  Provincial  Assembly, 
the  congregation  and  minister  of  the  church  were  permitted 
to  sell  the  lands.  It  is  stated  that  through  the  liberality  of 
Mrs.  Steenwyck,  who  later  married  Dominie  Henricus  Sel- 
wyns,  three  hundred  acres  were  reserved  from  the  manor 
and  continued  in  the  possession  of  the  Archers.  However 
that  may  be,  the  descendants  of  John  Archer  lived  upon  the 
land  for  several  generations,  and  one  of  them,  Benjamin 
Archer,  before  1780,  had  succeeded  in  recovering  a  large 
portion  of  the  original  manor,  which  he  held  in  fee. 

As  already  stated,  the  estate  of  Jonas  Bronk  came  into  the 
possession  of  Captain  Richard  Morris  in  1670.  The  Morrises 
were  of  Welsh  extraction  and  descended,  according  to  Bolton, 
from  Rys,  a  companion  of  Strongbow  in  his  expedition  against 
Ireland,  where  he  performed  such  prodigies  of  valor  that  he 
was  called  Maur  Rys,  or  Rys  the  Great.  The  Morrises  of 
this  period  of  our  history  took  part  in  the  Civil  War  in  England 
on  the  side  of  the  Parliament.  The  family  consisted  at  the 
time  of  the  Commonwealth  of  three  brothers:  Lewis,  a 
colonel  in  the  army  of  the  Parliament;  Richard,  a  captain 
in  his  brother's  regiment;  and  William,  who  was  in  the  naval 
service  of  the  Parliament  and  who  was  lost  at  sea.  The  last's 
son  John  received  a  commission  in  the  navy  of  the  Common- 
wealth, and  was  lost  at  sea  off  Dover  Castle. 


Under  the  Lord  Proprietor,  1664-1685  63 


The  oldest  brother,  Lewis,  lost  his  ancestral  estates  under 
confiscation  by  Charles  I.,  but  the  loss  was  afterwards  made 
good  by  Cromwell.  After  the  establishment  of  the  Common- 
wealth, Lewis  went  to  the  West  Indies,  where  he  became  a 
member  of  the  council  of  Barbados  and  the  owner  of  a  large 
estate.  In  the  expedition  against  the  Spanish  in  Jamaica  in 
1656,  he  served  under  a  colonel's  commission  sent  to  him  by 
the  Lord  Protector.  Later,  he  openly  professed  the  tenets 
of  the  Society  of  Friends,  or  Quakers,  and  entertained  George 
Fox,  the  founder  of  the  sect,  upon  his  visit  to  Barbados  in 
167 1.  After  the  Restoration,  the  second  brother,  Richard, 
joined  Colonel  Lewis  at  Barbados,  where  he  married  a  lady 
of  fortune  named  Sarah  Pole  and  became  a  wealthy  sugar 
planter.  Colonel  Morris's  religious  convictions  got  him  into 
trouble  with  the  Barbados  authorities,  as  he  was  heavily 
fined  for  his  failure  to  pay  tithes  and  to  contribute  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  militia.  Probably  this  had  something  to  do  with 
the  change  of  residence  which  the  two  brothers  planned. 
Their  attention  was  drawn  to  New  York  as  a  place  of  good 
investment;  and  about  1668,  Richard,  with  wife  and  posses- 
sions, came  to  New  York  for  the  purpose  of  buying  a  large 
estate.  Before  leaving  Barbados,  the  brothers  entered  into 
an  agreement,  providing  "that  if  either  of  them  should  die 
without  issue,  the  survivor,  or  issue  of  the  survivor,  if  any, 
should  take  the  estate. " 

By  an  instrument  dated  August  10,  1670,  Samuel  Edsall 
conveyed  Broncksland  to  Richard  Morris,  a  merchant  of 
New  York,  and  to  Lewis  Morris,  a  merchant  of  Barbados. 
Richard  and  his  wife  took  up  their  residence  upon  the  estate, 
but  did  not  enjoy  it  long;  for  they  both  died  in  1672,  leaving 
an  infant  son,  Lewis,  named  after  his  uncle.  Colonel  Morris 
received  news  of  his  brother's  death  and  came  from  Barbados 


64 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


in  1673  to  settle  up  the  estate.  He  found  that  the  Dutch  were 
once  more  in  possession  of  New  York;  but  upon  applying  to 
Governor  Colve,  permission  was  given  to  him  "to  pass  and 
repass  into  this  government,  on  condition  that  he  attempt 
nothing  to  its  prejudice  during  his  sojourn."  Upon  his 
applying  for  the  guardianship  of  the  person  and  estate  of  his 
nephew,  the  Governor  discovered  that  he  was  an  inhabitant 
of  Barbados,  and  therefore  not  entitled  to  the  same  rights  as 
had  been  guaranteed  to  the  colonists  of  Virginia  and  New  Eng- 
land by  the  terms  of  surrender  of  New  York  to  the  Dutch; 
and  that,  as  his  interest  in  the  estate  amounted  to  two  thirds, 
his  portion  should  be  confiscated  to  the  government.  Negoti- 
ations proceeded,  commissioners  were  appointed,  lost  articles 
were  traced  and  recovered,  and  finally,  the  Colonel  succeeded 
in  satisfying  the  Governor,  and  his  claims  were  allowed.  He 
then  returned  to  Barbados,  disposed  of  his  property  there, 
and  returned  to  New  York  in  1675,  finding  it  once  more 
under  English  control. 

In  1676,  Colonel  Morris  received  from  Governor  Andros 
a  patent  confirming  his  title  to  the  land,  and,  in  addition,  to 
all  the  lands  lying  adjacent  to  Broncksland,  "not  included  in 
any  grants  or  patents,  which  land  the  said  Colonel  Morris 
doth  desire  for  further  improvement."  This  additional 
land  was,  by  survey,  fourteen  hundred  acres,  which,  with 
the  addition  of  Broncksland,  made  the  whole  estate  1920 
acres.  The  quit-rent  was  a  yearly  payment  of  "five  bushels 
of  winter  wheat."  The  bounds  on  the  north  were  the  lands 
of  Daniel  Turneur  and  John  Archer;  on  the  east,  the  land  of 
John  Richardson  and  Thomas  Hunt;  on  the  southeast,  the 
Sound,  or  East  River;  on  the  west,  the  Harlem  River. 

Daniel  Turneur's  land  was  a  strip  of  about  eighty  acres 
below  Fordham  Manor,  purchased  by  him  from  the  Indians 


Map  of  Brouncksland. 


Map  of  Bronx  Neck.    Patent  of  1676. 


Under  the  Lord  Proprietor,  1664-1685  65 


in  1671,  and  confirmed  by  a  later  Indian  deed  of  May  10,  1676, 
to  "  Jackeline  Turnier,  widow,  and  Daniel  Turnier,  the  Sonne 
of  Daniel  Turnier,  late  of  New  Harlem,  deceased,"  and  by 
patent  of  Governor  Nicolls  of  the  date  of  June  15,  1668. 
The  land  lay  between  the  Maenippis  Kill,  or  Cromwell's 
Creek,  and  the  Harlem  River,  and  comprised  the  high  land 
which  is  known  as  Devoe's  Point,  named  after  the  Devoes, 
who  were  descendants  of  Turneur's  daughter.  Its  lower  end 
is  at  Central  Bridge.  The  Indians  called  the  land  Nuasin 
and  the  stream,  Mentipathe.  In  an  Indian  deed  to  Colonel 
Lewis  Morris  under  date  of  February  7,  1684/5,  there  occur 
these  words:  "Nuasin  where  formerly  lived  a  Frenchman 
named  Marcus  Dissisway."  The  name  Dissisway  occurs 
also  in  the  annals  of  Harlem.  "Crabbe  Island"  is  men- 
tioned in  both  the  Turneur  and  Morris  grants  as  the  starting- 
point  of  their  bounds. 

In  addition  to  this  estate  on  the  mainland  of  Westchester 
County,  Colonel  Lewis  Morris  bought  thirty-five  hundred 
acres  in  East  Jersey,  which  he  named  Tintern  and  Monmouth, 
the  first  from  his  ancestral  estate  in  Wales,  the  latter  from  the 
county  in  which  it  was  situated.  Morristown  in  New  Jersey 
was  named  after  the  Morris  family. 

On  August  9,  1673,  England  and  Holland  then  being  at 
war,  New  York  was  surrendered  to  a  Dutch  squadron  which 
had  appeared  off  New  York  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  July. 
The  Dutch  renamed  the  city  New  Orange  and  vigorously 
asserted  their  claim  to  the  entire  province.  They  held  posses- 
sion till  February  9,  1674,  when,  by  the  Treaty  of  London,  it 
was  returned  to  the  English ;  though  the  actual  surrender  of 
the  province  did  not  take  place  until  the  following  November. 
The  Crown  thus  became  possessed  of  the  province,  and  the 
Crown  lawyers  maintained  that  the  Duke  of  York  had,  in 

5 


66  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


consequence,  lost  his  title  to  it.  A  new  patent  was  therefore 
issued  to  the  Duke,  and  Major  Edmund  Andros  was  appointed 
Governor. 

During  the  Dutch  occupancy  (1673-1674),  affairs  were 
but  slightly  interfered  with,  the  towns  and  inhabitants,  how- 
ever, being  obliged  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Dutch. 
Governor  Colve  probably  made  a  good  thing  out  of  his  short 
term  of  power,  if  we  judge  him  by  his  composition  with  Colonel 
Morris,  and  his  appropriation  of  the  fat  poultry,  oxen,  and 
swine  of  the  estate  of  Captain  Richard  Morris.  In  the  public 
documents  before,  during,  and  after  the  Dutch  interregnum, 
we  find  the  same  names  of  public  officers,  Van  Cortlandt, 
Philipse,  Beekman,  Bayard,  and  others. 

In  1683,  Colonel  Thomas  Dongan  became  Governor.  Acting 
under  instructions  from  the  proprietor,  directly  upon  his 
arrival,  the  new  Governor  issued  a  call  for  a  representative 
Assembly,  which  was  presided  over  by  himself,  and  which  con- 
vened in  the  city  of  New  York,  October  17,  1683.  The  first 
act  of  this  body  was  to  frame  a  charter  of  liberties,  vesting 
the  law-making  power  in  the  governor,  council,  and  people, 
in  General  Assembly,  conferring  the  right  of  suffrage  upon 
the  freeholders  without  restraint,  and  establishing  trial  by 
jury. 

"The  imposition  of  any  tax  without  the  consent  of  the 
Assembly,  the  quartering  of  soldiers  and  seamen  against  their 
will,  the  declaration  of  martial  law,  or  the  questioning  of  any 
person  professing  faith  in  God,  by  Jesus  Christ,  for  any  differ- 
ences in  religious  matters,  were  prohibited.  Assemblies  were 
directed  to  be  convened  at  least  triennially,  and  the  delegates 
were  apportioned  according  to  population,  for  which  purpose 
the  province  was  divided  into  twelve  counties,  with  twenty- 
one  representatives,  which  number  was  afterwards  increased 
to  twenty-seven. " 


Under  the  Lord  Proprietor,  1664-1685  67 

This  division  into  counties  was  made  November  1,  1683. 
Westchester  County  was  one  of  them ;  and  it  has  already  been 
shown  that  the  Borough  was  a  part  of  that  county  until  1874 
for  the  western  part,  and  until  1895  for  the  eastern  part. 


CHAPTER  IV 


AS  A  ROYAL  PROVINCE.  1685-I776 

FEBRUARY  9,  1685,  the  "Merry  Monarch,"  King 
Charles  II.,  expired  in  London;  and  the  same  day 
his  brother  James,  Duke  of  York  and  Albany,  be- 
came King  James  II.  of  England.  New  York  ceased  to  be 
a  part  of  the  private  domain  of  James  and  became  a  royal 
province;  though  Dongan  continued  to  be  Governor- General. 
The  Provincial  Assembly  was  suspended  by  the  King,  as  he  did 
not  consider  it  expedient  that  the  people  should  take  part  in 
the  government,  and  the  Governor  and  his  council  became 
once  more  supreme.  Now  that  New  York  and  New  England 
were  on  the  same  basis  as  royal  provinces,  Governor  Dongan 
proposed  to  the  King  that  they,  with  New  Jersey,  should  be 
united  under  one  royal  governor,  and  that  there  should  be 
uniformity  of  laws,  especially  those  relating  to  the  customs. 
This  suggestion  of  Dongan's  was  carried  out  in  1688;  and 
Sir  Edmund  Andros  was  appointed  Royal  Governor,  with 
headquarters  in  Boston,  while  Colonel  Francis  Nicholson 
was  sent  as  Lieutenant-Governor  for  New  York. 

In  1686,  Dongan  granted  to  the  city  of  New  York  a  new 
charter  under  the  title:  "The  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Com- 
monalty of  the  City  of  New  York."  The  precincts  of  the 
city  included  all  of  Manhattan  Island;  and  the  Dongan  charter 

68 


As  a  Royal  Province.  1685-1776 


69 


was  the  basis  of  all  amendments  and  changes  in  the  city 
government  from  that  time  until  the  Greater  New  York  was 
formed.  When  the  western  part  of  the  Borough  became  a 
part  of  the  city  in  1874,  it  became  subject  to  the  Dongan  char- 
ter as  then  existing ;  the  same  is  true  of  the  eastern  part  of  the 
Borough  annexed  in  1895,  though  the  greater. city  with  its 
new  charter  was  even  then  in  view. 

Dongan  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  but  refused  to  carry  out 
the  instructions  of  the  King  to  introduce  French  priests  as 
missionaries  among  the  Five  Nations,  on  the  ground  that  the 
measure  was  dangerous  to  the  English  power  in  America. 
This  rendered  him  obnoxious  to  the  King,  and  he  forestalled 
his  supersession  as  Governor  by  resigning. 

Nicholson  was  Lieutenant-Governor  but  a  short  time;  but 
during  this  time  he  rendered  himself  so  unpopular  with  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  that,  when  the  news  of  the  accession 
of  William  and  Mary  reached  the  Province  in  June,  1689, 
the  people  rose  against  him  and,  backed  by  the  militia,  com- 
pelled his  return  to  England.  The  Province  was  thus  left 
without  a  head.  Jacob  Leisler,  a  wealthy  German  merchant 
and  leading  train-band  captain,  was  elected  to  the  military 
command  of  the  Province  by  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety, 
and  Stephanus  Van  Cortlandt  to  the  mayoralty  of  the  city. 
Finally,  at  the  request  of  the  committee,  Leisler  assumed  the 
position  of  lieutenant-governor  until  such  time  as  a  regularly 
appointed  one  should  arrive  from  England.  The  movement 
was  entirely  a  popular  one,  and  thus  antagonized  the  wealthy 
landowners  and  merchants  who  formed  the  aristocracy  of  the 
province.  Even  the  council  was  against  Leisler;  and  Bayard 
and  Livingston  pursued  him  with  so  much  rancor  that  it 
finally  led  to  his  unjust  execution  for  high  treason. 

In  1690,  Colonel  Henry  Sloughter  was  appointed  Governor  by 


70  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


William,  and  Mary,  with  Major  Richard  Ingoldsby  as  deputy 
for  New  York.  Ingoldsby  arrived  first;  but  as  he  was  unable 
to  show  proper  credentials,  Leisler  refused  to  turn  over  to  him 
the  fort  and  government.  Sloughter  arrived  in  March,  1691, 
and  Leisler  immediately  submitted ;  but  he  was  at  once  arres- 
ted, tried,  and  convicted  of  treason  and  condemned  to  death. 
He  and  his  son-in-law,  Jacob  Milbourne,  were  both  hanged. 
The  attainder  of  treason  against  the  two  unfortunate  victims 
of  political  jealousy  was  afterwards  removed  by  the  home 
government  and  their  innocence  declared.  There  are  two 
acts  of  Leisler's  which  stand  out  pre-eminently:  first,  the 
reconvening  of  the  Provincial  Assembly;  and  second,  the 
purchase  of  a  part  of  the  manor  of  Pelham  for  the  Huguenots, 
a  transaction  out  of  which  he  came  with  clean  hands,  not  a 
penny  going  to  his  profit. 

The  first  Assembly  under  Sloughter  met  upon  April  9,  1691 ; 
and,  as  the  acts  of  the  Assembly  of  1683  na<^  never  been 
approved,  either  by  the  king  or  by  the  proprietor,  they  were 
all  re-enacted  and  sent  to  England  for  approval.  On  July 
26th,  Governor  Sloughter  died  in  a  fit  of  drunkenness,  having 
been  in  the  Province  a  little  over  four  months. 

His  successor  was  Colonel  Benjamin  Fletcher,  who  did  not 
arrive  in  New  York  till  August,  1692,  thirteen  months  after 
Sloughter's  death.  Fletcher  was  an  arrogant  man  like  Andros, 
but  not  possessing  his  abilities,  of  aristocratic  tendencies 
and  opposed  to  popular  concessions.  He  was  an  intolerant 
member  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  through  an  intentional 
misconstruction  of  an  act  of  Assembly,  he  made  it  the  Estab- 
lished Church  of  the  Province.  He  also  fought  for  the  intro- 
duction of  the  English  tongue;  for,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  the 
majority  of  the  inhabitants  spoke  Dutch. 

In  1683,  when  the  counties  were  formed,  the  town  of  West- 


As  a  Royal  Province.    1685-1776  71 


Chester  was  appointed  the  shire  town,  or  county  seat.  By 
the  act  of  May  11,  1693,  it  was  ordered  that  "a  public  and 
open  market"  should  be  held  every  Wednesday  in  the  same 
town,  and  further,  that  there  should  be  a  fair  held  in  the  said 
town  yearly  upon  the  second  Tuesday  in  May  and  to  last 
four  days,  or  to  end  on  the  Friday  following;  "to  which  it 
shall  be  lawful  for  every  person  to  go  and  frequent." 

But  the  most  important  act  in  the  history  of  the  town  of 
Westchester  was  its  formation  into  a  borough-town  by  royal 
charter  bearing  date  of  April  16,  1696,  and  signed  by  Governor 
Fletcher.  The  government  of  the  town  was  organized  by 
Colonel  Caleb  Heathcote  on  the  sixth  of  the  following  June. 
The  charter  carefully  defined  the  limits  of  the  township  and 
prescribed  that  there  should  be  a  mayor,  six  aldermen,  and 
six  assistants,  or  common  council.  They  should  "elect  and 
nominate  one  discreet  and  sufficient  person,  learned  in  ye  law, 
to  be  recorder  and  town  clerk  for  ye  sd  borough  and  town  of 
W.  Chester."  A  mayor's  court  was  instituted  which  could 
hear  cases  where  the  value  in  controversy  did  not  exceed  thirty 
pounds.  The  mayor  and  aldermen  were  named  in  the  charter, 
but  after  the  first  year  the  positions  were  to  be  filled  by  a 
majority  vote  of  the  electors.  The  electors  should  also  send  a 
discreet  person  to  represent  them  in  the  Assembly  of  the 
Province.  The  "body  politick"  in  the  said  corporate  town 
should  be  styled  "The  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Commonalty  of 
the  Borough  and  Town  of  Westchester. "  Twelve  trustees 
were  appointed  to  dispose  of  the  undivided  lands  of  the  town. 
The  quit-rent  was  an  annual  payment  of  thirty  shillings  cur- 
rent money  of  New  York.  The  county  fairs  to  be  held  in  the 
town  were  to  be  increased  to  two,  one  in  May,  the  other  in 
October. 

Colonel  Caleb  Heathcote,  the  first  Mayor,  through  whose 


72 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


instrumentality  Westchester  was  made  into  a  borough- town, 
was  a  native  of  Derbyshire  in  England.  His  ancestral  home 
was  in  the  Hundred  of  Scarsdale,  where  is  laid  the  earlier  part 
of  Scott's  Peveril  of  the  Peak.  There  is  a  story  that  a  young 
lady  to  whom  Caleb  was  engaged  jilted  him  and  married  his 
elder  brother,  afterwards  member  of  Parliament,  governor  of 
the  Bank  of  England,  and  Lord  Mayor  of  London  at  the  same 
time  that  Caleb  was  Mayor  of  New  York.  The  Colonel  came 
to  this  country  in  1692,  and  being  possessed  of  great  wealth 
which  he  had  acquired  as  a  merchant,  he  took  a  leading  part 
from  the  start  in  all  affairs,  civil,  political,  mercantile,  religious, 
and  military.  He  bought  land  in  Westchester  and  in  other 
parts  of  the  county  beyond  New  Rochelle  and  in  the  interior, 
which  was  afterwards  formed  into  the  manor  of  Scarsdale. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  in  1 720-2 1 ,  he  had  filled  many  of  the 
high  offices  of  the  colony,  having  been  surveyor-general  of 
customs  for  the  Eastern  District  of  North  America,  judge  of 
the  Court  of  Admiralty  for  the  Provinces  of  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Connecticut,  one  of  His  Majesty's  council  for  the 
Province  of  New  York,  mayor  of  the  city  of  New  York  (171 1— 
1 7 14),  and  colonel  of  the  militia  of  Westchester  County.  It  is 
to  this  last  position  that  he  owes  his  usual  title  of  "Colonel" 
Caleb  Heathcote.  His  manorial  residence  was  on  Heathcote 
Hill  overlooking  the  harbor  of  Mamaroneck. 

The  borough-town  of  Westchester  remained  such  until 
the  formation  of  the  townships  in  1788.  Its  representatives 
in  the  Provincial  Assembly  were  Josiah  Hunt,  Lewis  Morris, 
Sr.,  Gilbert  Willett,  Lewis  Morris,  Jr.,  Peter  De  Lancey, 
Lewis  Morris,  Third,  John  De  Lancey,  and  Isaac  Wilkins. 
They  were  all  men  of  wealth,  education,  and  influence,  and 
extensive  landowners.  Their  names  are  familiar  to-day  in 
many  of  the  names  of  local  features:  Willett's  Point,  Hunt's 


As  a  Royal  Province.    1685-1776  73 


Point,  De  Lancey's  Neck,  Wilkins's  Creek,  Morrisania,  and 
Port  Morris. 

Colonel  Lewis  Morris  died  in  1691.  His  will,  dated  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1690,  begins: 

"Whereas  I  formerly  intended  to  have  made  my  nephew, 
Lewis  Morris,  son  of  my  deceased  brother,  Richard  Morris, 
my  sole  executor;  his  many  and  great  miscarryages  and 
disobedience  toward  me  and  my  wife,  and  his  causeless  ab- 
senting himself  from  my  house,  and  adhering  and  advizeing 
with  those  of  bad  life  and  conversation,  contrary  to  my 
directions  and  example  unto  him,  and  for  other  reasons 
best  knowne  to  my  self  e,  I  do  make  and  ordaine  my  dearly 
beloved  wife,  Mary  Morris,  sole  executrix  of  this  my  last 
will  and  testament. " 

Colonel  Morris  left  no  children,  and  Mary  Morris  died  before 
her  husband.  His  will  was  not  admitted  to  probate  or  exe- 
cuted on  account  of  its  vagueness,  so  that  the  nephew  Lewis 
was  appointed  administrator,  cum  testamento  annexo.  Lewis 
succeeded  to  the  estates  in  accordance  with  the  agreement 
made  between  his  father  and  uncle  at  Barbados  in  1670, 
whereby  the  children  of  the  one  should  succeed  to  the  estate 
in  case  the  other  should  die  without  issue. 

That  the  Colonel  remained  a  Quaker  until  his  death  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  there  were  several  bequests  to 
Quaker  societies  and '  of  his  negro  man  Yaff  to  his  honored 
friend  William  Penn,  provided  the  said  Penn  should  come  to 
reside  in  America.  It  is  probable  that  Penn  received  Yafif, 
for  he  says  in  a  letter  to  a  friend:  "I  have  resolved  after 
four  years  of  faithful  service  he  shall  be  free." 

Young  Lewis  Morris  was  of  a  lively  and  adventurous 
disposition,  and  probably  found  the  restraints  of  his  Quaker 
uncle's  household  rather  irksome;  so  much  so  that,  according 


74 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


to  one  of  his  biographers,  he  "strolled  away  to  Virginia  and 
thence  to  Jamaica  in  the  West  Indies,  where,  to  support  him- 
self, he  set  up  for  a  scrivener."  One  of  his  early  pranks,  so 
it  is  reported,  was  played  upon  his  preceptor,  a  zealous  and 
pious  Friend.  The  worthy  man  was  wandering  in  the  woods 
engaged  in  silent  meditation,  when  he  heard  a  voice  from 
heaven,  as  he  supposed,  telling  him  to  go  and  preach  the  gospel 
to  the  Indians.  The  voice  was  that  of  young  Lewis,  who  was 
hidden  in  a  tree  in  the  vicinity.  The  good  Friend,  believing 
the  command  to  be  a  divine  one,  actually  made  preparations 
for  his  mission  among  the  Indians;  but  just  on  the  eve  of  his 
departure  he  was  informed  of  the  truth. 

It  is  likely  that  his  uncle  presaged  all  sorts  of  futures  for 
such  an  unruly  lad;  but,  instead  of  going  to  the  dogs,  as  one 
might  suppose  from  such  a  beginning,  he  settled  down,  married 
Isabella  Graham,  the  daughter  of  the  attorney-general  of  the 
Province,  took  up  his  residence  in  New  Jersey,  whose  first 
governor  he  became  when  it  ceased  to  be  proprietary.  Later 
he  removed  to  New  York  and  became  chief  justice  of  the 
Province  and  a  member  of  the  Assembly.  He  resisted  the 
tyranny  of  the  English  Governor,  Cosby,  stood  by  Zenger  in 
defending  the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  became  the  champion 
of  the  people  against  De  Lancey,  Philipse,  and  other  supporters 
of  royal  prerogatives  as  exemplified  by  the  royal  governors; 
which  last  aroused  such  a  spirit  of  mutual  antagonism  that 
the  feeling  remained  with  their  descendants  until  the  time  of 
the  Revolution.  In  fact,  his  whole  life  was  spent  in  public 
office  and  in  serving  the  Province. 

On  May  8,  1697, 

"Benjamin  Fletcher,  captain-general  and  governor-in-chief 
of  the  province  of  New  York  and  the  territories  and  tracts 
of  land  dependent  thereon  in  America,  and  vice-admiral 


As  a  Royal  Province.  1685-1776 


of  the  same,  and  lieutenant  commander-in-chief  of  the  mili- 
tia and  all  the  forces  by  sea  and  land  within  the  colony 
of  Connecticut  and  of  all  the  forts  and  places  of  strength 
within  the  same,  in  council  at  the  fort  at  New  York," 

issued  to  Lewis  Morris  a  patent  for  the  manor  of  Morrisania. 
The  quit-rent  was  "six  shillings,  yearly  and  every  year,  on  the 
feast  day  of  the  Annunciation  of  our  Blessed  Virgin,  payable 
at  the  city  of  New  York. " 

It  was  a  royal  patent,  issued  in  the  name  of  William  the 
Third,  and  it  confirmed  all  the  previous  patents  and  grants 
from  the  original  one  to  Jonas  Bronk  to  that  present  time. 
The  bounds  of  the  manor  are  the  same  as  the  bounds  of  the 
patent  granted  to  Colonel  Lewis  Morris  in  1676,  and  the 
acreage  is  given  as  1920,  more  or  less;  so  that  it  does  not 
seem  that  Colonel  Morris  added  anything  from  "the  adjacent 
lands  not  already  granted  or  patented. "  The  point  of  begin- 
ning in  both  patents  is  "the  proprietor's  house  situated  in 
Bronck's  land  over  against  Harlem."  The  manor-lord  was 
also  given  the  right  of  advowson,  or  patronage  to  all  churches 
within  the  manor. 

In  1733,  occurred  the  difference  between  Judge  Morris  and 
Governor  Cosby.  The  Governor  saw  fit  to  find  fault  with  a 
decision  of  a  court  given  against  him  in  the  matter  of  his 
suit  for  salary  from  the  time  of  his  appointment  to  the  time  that 
he  actually  arrived  in  America  and  assumed  the  duties  of  his 
office,  a  period  of  several  months,  during  which  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  Rip  Van  Dam,  conducted  the  government  and  was 
paid  for  so  doing.  Cosby  was  so  imprudent  as  to  state  con- 
cerning Chief  Justice  Morris  that, 

"I  can  neither  rely  upon  his  integrity  nor  depend  upon  his 
judgment ;  he  is  a  person  not  at  all  fitted  to  be  trusted  with 
any  concerns  relating  to  the  King.    Ever  since  coming  to  this 


76 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


government,  he  has  treated  me,  both  as  to  my  own  person 
and  as  the  King's  representative,  with  slight,  rudeness,  and 
impertinence." 

In  the  reply  of  the  Chief  Justice,  he  states : 

"I  am  heartily  sorry,  sir,  .  .  .  that  the  King's  representative 
should  be  moved  to  so  great  a  degree  of  warmth,  which  I  think 
would  proceed  from  no  other  reason  but  by  giving  my  opinion, 
in  a  Court  of  which  I  was  Judge,  upon  a  point  of  law  that 
came  before  me,  and  in  which  I  might  be  innocently  mistaken ; 
(though  I  think  I  am  not) ;  for  judges  are  no  more  infallible 
than  their  superiors  are  impeccable.  But  if  judges  are  to  be 
intimidated  so  as  not  to  dare  to  give  any  opinion  but  what  is 
pleasing  to  a  governor,  and  agreeable  to  his  private  views,  the 
people  of  this  province — who  are  very  much  concerned  both 
with  respect  to  their  lives  and  fortunes  in  the  freedom  and 
independency  of  those  who  are  to  judge  them — may  possibly 
not  think  themselves  so  secure  in  either  of  them  as  the  laws 
and  his  Majesty  intend  they  should  be,  ...  I  might  possibly 
have  been  impertinent,  for  old  men  are  too  often  so;  but  as  to 
treating  you  with  rudeness  and  disrespect,  either  in  your 
public  or  private  capacity,  it  is  what  I  cannot  accuse  myself 
of  doing  or  intending  to  do,  at  any  one  of  the  times  I  was  with 
you.  ...  As  to  my  integrity,  I  have  given  you  no  occasion 
to  call  it  in  question.  I  have  been  in  this  office  about  twenty 
years.  My  hands  were  never  soiled  by  a  bribe;  nor  am  I 
conscious  to  myself,  that  power  or  poverty  hath  been  able  to 
induce  me  to  be  partial  in  the  favor  of  either  of  them ;  and  as  I 
have  no  reason  to  expect  any  favor  of  you,  so  I  am  neither 
afraid  nor  ashamed  to  stand  the  test  of  the  strictest  inquiry 
you  can  make  concerning  my  conduct.  I  have  served  the 
public  faithfully,  according  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge; 
and  I  dare,  and  do,  appeal  to  it  for  my  justification. " 

A  contemporary  comment  is  made  in  a  news-letter  to  a 
West  Indian  publication.    Indus  writes: 

"Sir:  You  will  perceive,  by  the  enclosed  copy  of  a  letter, 


As  a  Royal  Province.  1685-1776 


77 


that  the  Original  was  addressed  to  the  present  Governor  of 
New  York,  on  occasion  of  a  dispute  that  arose  between  his 
Excellency  and  the  Chief  Judge  of  the  province  concerning 
\,he  establishment  of  a  new  Court  of  Equity.  .  .  .  The 
governor,  however,  was  offended  at  what  was  spoken,  and 
demanded  a  copy,  which  the  judge  sent  to  him,  in  print, 
with  the  letter  now  mentioned. 

"I  confess  I  had  some  curiosity  to  know  the  particular 
character  of  this  extraordinary  personage,  who  would  seem  to 
act  and  speak  like  an  inhabitant  from  some  other  world. 
They  tell  me  he  is  nothing  but  a  man,  and  a  plain  one,  too; 
exactly  like  one  of  us — eats  beef  and  mutton,  drinks  Madeira 
wine,  and  sometimes  rum  punch,  as  we  do.  His  education 
was  narrow,  nor  does  he  pretend  to  inspiration  nor  super- 
natural aid.  His  knowledge  is  derived  merely  from  reading 
and  observation,  and  his  fortitude  grounded  on  the  Christian 
religion  and  the  laws  of  his  country,  which  he  fancies  are  com- 
monly on  the  side  of  honesty  and  a  good  conscience.  ..." 

Judge  Morris  was  summarily  removed  from  his  position, 
and  James  De  Lancey,  the  second  judge,  was  appointed  to  his 
place.  Morris  immediately  carried  out  his  "dare"  in  the  last 
sentence  of  his  letter  to  Cosby,  by  appealing  to  the  people 
for  his  vindication,  and  offered  himself  as  a  candidate  for  the 
Assembly  from  the  county  of  Westchester,  the  incumbent  of 
the  office,  William  Willett,  a  close  friend  and  fellow-townsman, 
resigning  from  the  position  in  order  to  leave  a  vacancy. 

A  full  account  of  the  election,  which  took  place  upon  the 
green  at  Eastchester,  is  given  by  John  Peter  Zenger  in  the 
first  number  of  the  New  York  Weekly  Journal,  under  date  of 
October  29,  1733.  The  opponent  of  Judge  Morris  was  William 
Forster,  the  schoolmaster  at  Westchester,  who  was  defeated, 
notwithstanding  that  he  had  the  support  of  Governor  Cosby, 
James  De  Lancey,  Colonel  Frederick  Philipse,  and  other  lead- 
ing supporters  of  the  Governor.    Political  methods  were  used 


78 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


from  which  our  modern  leaders  might  get  pointers — the  worst 
being  the  disfranchisement  of  the  Quakers,  who,  of  course, 
would  not  swear  they  were  freeholders  and  entitled  to  vote; 
and  the  sheriff  would  not  accept  their  affirmations.  Not- 
withstanding the  loss  of  the  Quaker  vote — amounting  to 
thirty-eight — Judge  Morris  had  a  majority  of  eighty,  his 
election  being  a  victory  of  the  people  over  the  aristocracy. 
Later,  the  newly  elected  representative  visited  the  city  of 
New  York  and  was  received  with  high  honors,  all  the  mer- 
chant ships  in  the  harbor  firing  salutes,  and  the  people  hail- 
ing him  with  loud  acclamations  when  he  walked  the  streets. 

Zenger,  whose  account  of  the  election  is  full  of  naive  in- 
sinuations and  innuendoes,  was  later  informed  against  for 
criminal  libel  on  account  of  his  attacks  upon  the  government 
in  the  Journal.  He  was  arrested  and  thrown  into  jail,  where 
he  remained  for  several  months.  His  counsel  at  his  trial  were 
led  by  the  venerable  and  distinguished  Andrew  Hamilton  of 
Philadelphia,  the  ablest  lawyer  in  the  colonies.  Though 
Chief  Justice  De  Lancey,  who  presided  at  Zenger's  trial, 
charged  the  jury  that  they  could  be  judges  of  fact  only,  and 
not  of  law,  and  the  fact  of  the  scurrilous  articles  was  admitted 
by  the  defence,  the  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  "not  guilty," 
a  verdict  which  established  the  right  of  the  press  to  criticise 
the  public  acts  of  government — a  right  which,  with  freedom 
of  speech  and  of  conscience,  lies  at  the  foundation  of  free  and 
popular  government. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Elias  Doughty  sold  to  Philipse, 
Delaval,  and  Lewis  7708  acres  of  Colen  Donck.  By  June  12, 
1686,  the  whole  tract  had  come  into  possession  of  Frederick 
Philipse  by  purchase  from  the  heirs  of  the  other  two  pro- 
prietors. In  the  meanwhile,  Philipse  had  been  buying  land 
from  the  Indians  and  from  Christian  proprietors  and  patentees, 


As  a  Royal  Province.    1685-1776  79 

until,  in  1693,  he  owned  an  enormous  tract  of  land  extending 
virtually  from  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek  and  Harlem  River  on 
the  south  to  the  Croton  River  on  the  north,  and  between  The 
Bronx  and  Hudson  rivers  on  the  east  and  west.  This  tract 
did  not  include  the  Mile  Square,  nor  the  tracts  sold  to  Hadden 
or  to  Betts  and  Tippett. 

On  June  12,  1693,  by  royal  charter  signed  by  Benjamin 
Fletcher,  "captain-general  and  governor-in-chief  of  our 
province  of  New  York  aforesaid,"  all  of  Philipse's  purchases 
were  formed  into  the  lordship  and  manor  of  Philipseborough, 
or  Philipseburgh,  with  the  regular  rights  of  court-baron  and 
court-leet,  "together  with  the  advowson  and  right  of  patron- 
age of  all  and  every  the  church  or  churches  erected  or  to  be 
erected  or  established  or  hereafter  to  be  erected  or  established 
within  the  said  manor  of  Philipseborough."  The  quit-rent 
was  an  annual  payment  of  four  pounds  current  money  of  the 
Province  upon  the  feast  day  of  the  Annunciation  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  payable  "at  our  fort  at  New  York."  Included 
in  this  grant  was  the  island  Paparinemo,  with"  the  right  of 
building  a  bridge  across  the  Muscoota,  or  Spuyten  Duyvil 
Creek,  which  will  be  more  fully  taken  up  in  Chapter  VIII. 

Frederick  Philipse  (the  name  is  also  spelt  Flypse,  Flypsen, 
Vlypse,  and  Vlypsen — i.e.,  the  son  of  Philip)  was  a  native  of 
Friesland  in  Holland,  who  came  to  New  Amsterdam  before 
1653,  when  he  was  about  twenty-one  years  of  age.  He  worked 
at  his  trade  of  carpenter,  but  gradually  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits  until  he  became  the  richest  man  in  the  Province  and 
was  known  in  the  English  days  as  the  "Dutch  Millionaire." 
He  made  two  advantageous  marriages,  his  first  wife  being 
Margaret  Hardenbroeck,  widow  of  Pietrus  Rudolphus  De 
Vries,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  New  Amsterdam,  whose  business 
the  new  Mrs.  Philipse  continued  in  her  own  right  with  extra- 


86 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


ordinary  shrewdness  and  foresight.  This  was  in  1662;  she 
died  about  1690  or  '91 .  The  second  Mrs.  Philipse  was  Cather- 
ine Van  Cortland t,  the  sister  of  Stephanus  Van  Cortlandt  and 
widow  of  John  Dervall. 

Philipse  was  named  in  the  order  for  Dongan's  council  and 
was  a  councillor  for  upwards  of  twenty  years.  His  business 
ventures  were  in  both  the  East  and  the  West  Indies  and  with 
the  Five  Nations  of  the  Mohawk  Valley.  He  was  accused  of 
having  direct  dealings  with  the  island  of  Madagascar  off  the 
African  coast,  then  the  most  notorious  resort  of  pirates  on  the 
face  of  the  earth.  His  ships  supplied  the  pirates  with  rum, 
gun-powder,  flour,  and  other  necessities  at  exorbitant  prices, 
and  received  in  payment  merchandise  captured  from  innocent 
merchantmen.  This  illicit  trade  seems  to  have  been  consid- 
ered more  or  less  honorable,  or  at  least  not  dishonorable,  in 
those  days,  as  we  find  Livingston  and  other  wealthy  manor- 
lords  and  high  officials  engaged  in  it,  until  it  became  so  scan- 
dalous that  the  authorities  determined  to  put  a  stop  to  it. 
New  York  had  become  the  resort  for  vessels  which,  under  the 
guise  of  privateering,  indulged  in  piratical  exploits  and  sold 
their  spoils  in  New  York. 

The  person  selected  to  stop  this  nefarious  custom  was 
Captain  William  Kidd,  who  was  recommended  to  the  Governor 
by  Philipse,  Livingston,  and  others ;  but  who,  finding  his  crew 
willing,  hoisted  the  black  flag  and  began  the  career  that  has 
sent  his  name  down  the  centuries.  He  was  finally  captured, 
tried,  convicted,  and  hanged;  but  was  reticent  to  the  last  and 
would  not  expose  his  backers.  A  large  portion  of  his  spoils 
could  not  be  accounted  for,  which  has  led  to  the  tradition  that 
he  buried  them  along  the  American  shores,  an  especially 
favorite  location  being  Gardiner's  Island  and  other  places 
in  Long  Island  Sound.    Probably,  the  Governor,  Lord  Bello- 


As  a  Royal  Province.    1685-1776  81 

mont,  knew  whereof  he  spoke  when  he  said  that  "Kidd's 
missing  treasure  could  be  readily  found  if  the  coffers  of 
Frederick  Philipse  were  searched." 

The  connection  of  Philipse  with  the  illegal  traffic  at  last 
became  so  notorious  that  a  petition,  supported  by  depositions, 
asking  for  his  removal  from  the  council  was  presented  to  the 
home  government;  and,  anticipating  his  removal,  Philipse 
resigned  his  membership  in  the  council,  1698,  retired  to  his 
manor  and  bent  his  energies  to  its  development. 

Margaret  Hardenbroeck  had  a  daughter,  Eva,  by  her  first 
husband,  De  Vries,  whom  Philipse  legally  adopted  as  his  own. 
She  married  Jacobus  Van  Cortlandt,  brother  of  Stephanus 
and  of  Catherine,  Philipse's  second  wife.  Philipse  sold  to 
him  fifty  acres  on  George's  Point — a  bend  in  Tippett's  Brook — • 
with  one  and  one  half  acres  of  meadow  and  twenty-five  acres 
of  upland  on  October  10,  1699.  This  property  had  been 
bought  from  Doughty  by  Hadden,  who,  on  February  22,  1670, 
sold  George's  Point  to  Mathias  Buckhout,  who,  subsequently, 
January  22,  1694,  conveyed  it  to  Frederick  Philipse.  On 
August  13,  1 701,  Clause  Dewilt,  Karacapacomont,  and  Neme- 
ran,  native  Indians  and  former  proprietors,  "remised,  released, 
and  quit-claimed  unto  the  said  Jacobus  Van  Cortlandt,  and 
to  the  heirs  of  the  Betts  and  Tippetts,  and  to  their  heirs  and 
assigns  forever,  all  our  right,  title,  and  interest  which  we  ever 
had,  now  have,  or  hereafter  may  have  or  claim  to  the  said 
tract  of  land  called  the  old  Younckers. "  The  property  above 
described  became  the  nucleus  of  the  Van  Cortlandt  estate, 
now  included  within  the  park  of  that  name. 

The  purchasers  of  the  other  sections  of  Colen  Donck  did 
not  become  prominent  as  great  landholders ;  they  were,  speak- 
ing generally,  quiet  farmer  folk,  who  gradually  disposed  of 
their  holdings  to  other  people  like  themselves  or  to  their 

6 


82 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


wealthier  and  more  aristocratic  neighbors,  Philipse  or  Van 
Cortlandt;  in  fact,  the  Van  Cortlandt  estate  was  made  up  of 
the  Hadden  tract  and  a  large  part  of  the  Betts  and  Tippett 
tract.  Hadden,  having  lost  his  two  sons-in-law,  returned  to 
Westchester.  Descendants  of  Betts  and  Tippett  held  portions 
of  the  ancestral  domain  until  the  beginning  of  the  last  century. 
The  neck  upon  which  the  village  of  Spuy ten  Duy vil  is  situated 
was  called  Tippett's  Neck,  and  the  ridge  up  which  the  present 
Riverdale  Avenue  goes  is  called  Tippett's  Hill;  but  that  by 
which  the  name  of  the  former  proprietor  is  best  preserved  is 
Tippett's  Brook,  the  Mosholu  of  the  Indians.  Jacobus  Van 
Cortlandt  dammed  this  brook  about  1700,  forming  the  lake 
above,  and  erected  a  mill;  below  the  dam  it  is  a  tidal  stream. 

The  name  De  Lancey  has  already  appeared  in  the  report  of 
the  case  of  Chief  Justice  Lewis  Morris,  his  subsequent  election 
to  the  Assembly,  and  at  the  Zenger  trial.  The  first  De  Lancey 
came  to  America  in  1686;  this  was  Etienne,  or  Stephen,  De 
Lancey,  a  French  Huguenot,  who  fled  from  France  after  the 
Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  by  Louis  XIV.  in  1685. 
He  became  a  successful  and  wealthy  merchant,  and  married 
Ann,  the  second  daughter  of  Stephanus  Van  Cortlandt. 
Their  eldest  son  was  James  De  Lancey,  who  was  sent  to 
Cambridge,  England,  to  be  educated.  In  1729,  when  only 
twenty-six  years  of  age,  he  became  a  member  of  the  Governor's 
council,  and  two  years  later  an  associate  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  Province,  becoming  chief  justice  in  1733,  upon  the 
removal  of  Judge  Morris.  His  actions  during  this  period 
rendered  him  unpopular,  as  he  upheld  the  royal  prerogatives 
as  exemplified  in  the  actions  of  the  royal  governors.  Later, 
he  severed  his  adherence  to  the  party  of  the  Governor,  and 
in  revenge  Governor  Clinton  withheld  his  appointment  as 
Lieutenant-Governor  for  six  years,  or  until  his  own  departure 


\ 


As  a  Royal  Province.  1685-1776 


83 


for  England  in  October,  1753.  Clinton's  successor,  Sir 
Danvers  Osborn,  met  with  opposition  from  the  Assembly 
almost  from  the  moment  of  his  arrival,  and  in  a  fit  of  dejection 
he  hanged  himself.  He  had  already  shown  a  tendency  to 
mental  aberration,  due  to  family  loss. 

The  governorship  therefore  fell  upon  Lieutenant-Governor 
De  Lancey,  and  so  acceptably  did  he  fill  the  office  that  the 
home  government  made  no  appointment  as  Governor  until 
after  De  Lancey's  death  in  1760.  He  married  Ann  Heathcote 
who,  with  her  sister  Martha  (Johnson),  inherited  the  manor  of 
Scarsdale  from  their  father,  Colonel  Caleb  Heathcote;  and 
De  Lancey  thus  became  a  great  landholder  in  the  county  of 
Westchester.  His  three  sons  were  all  Tories  in  the  subsequent 
dissensions.  The  youngest,  John  Peter,  served  as  a  major 
on  the  British  side,  but  afterwards  established  himself  at 
Mamaroneck,  where  he  built  a  mansion  on  the  site  formerly 
occupied  by  the  manor-house  of  his  grandfather,  which  had 
been  accidentally  burned  previous  to  the  Revolution.  John 
Peter's  daughter,  Susan  Augusta,  married  James  Fenimore 
Cooper,  the  famous  novelist;  another  daughter  married 
Macadam,  the  famous  road  builder. 

A  younger  brother  of  the  Lieutenant  -  Governor  was 
Peter  De  Lancey,  who  settled  himself  at  West  Farms  and 
operated  the  old  Richardson  and  Byvanck  mills.  In  con- 
sequence, he  was  generally  known  as  "Peter  of  the  Mills." 
He  represented  the  borough-town  in  the  Assembly  from 
1750  to  t 768.  Of  his  three  sons,  John  reached  high  politi- 
cal office,  James  was  high  sheriff  of  the  county  from  1770 
to  1777,  but  is  better  known  as  the  famous  commander  of 
the  regiment  of  loyalists  called  the  Westchester  Light  Horse, 1 

1  For  a  fuller  account  of  this  famous  corps  of  Tories,  the  reader  is  referred 
to  the  author's  novel,  A  Princess  and  Another. 


84 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


and  Oliver,  an  officer  in  the  British  navy,  who  resigned  his 
commission  rather  than  fight  against  his  native  country. 

Of  the  Willetts,  who,  through  Susan,  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
Cornell,  inherited  Cornell's  Neck,  we  have  already  spoken. 

The  manor  of  Pelham  fell  to  John  Pell,  nephew  of  the  first 
owner,  who  alienated  two  thirds  of  it  to  Leisler  for  the  Hugue- 
not settlement  of  New  Rochelle.  The  remainder  came  into 
the  hands  of  successive  manor-lords  until  the  Revolution. 
The  family,  though  an  eminently  respectable  one,  was  not  so 
prominent  in  public  affairs  as  those  that  have  been  mentioned. 
There  were,  however,  many  intermarriages  with  the  other 
leading  families. 

The  first  of  the  Leggett  family  was  Gabriel,  who  came 
from  Essex,  England,  in  1661.  Through  his  wife,  Elizabeth 
Richardson,  daughter  and  co-heiress  of  John  Richardson,  who, 
with  Edward  Jessup,  was  the  original  patentee  of  West  Farms, 
a  large  part  of  that  patent  came  into  his  possession  and  has 
remained  in  that  of  his  descendants  to  this  day. 

Chief  Justice  Lewis  Morris,  usually  called  Senior,  died  at 
an  advanced  age  in  1746.  His  successor  in  the  lordship  of  the 
manor  of  Morrisania  was  his  second  son  Lewis,  usually  called 
Junior,  who  was  a  judge  in  several  courts  and  assemblyman 
for  the  county,  spending  his  whole  life  in  public  affairs.  Upon 
his  death  in  1762,  the  manor  devolved  upon  his  son,  Lewis 
Morris,  Third,  representative  in  the  Continental  Congress 
and  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
Before  serving  his  country  in  a  civil  capacity,  he  had  been  a 
brigadier-general  in  the  army  of  the  Congress.  He  was  born 
in  1726  and  died  in  1798.  His  half-brother,  Gouverneur 
Morris,  was  United  States  Minister  to  France  at  the  time  of 
the  Directory,  and  was  otherwise  famous  in  United  States 
history.    The  Morris  family  has  numerous  branches,  and  many 


As  a  Royal  Province.    1685-1776  85 

of  its  members  have  borne  distinguished  parts  in  the  making 
of  the  State  and  of  the  city  and  the  nation ;  in  the  army  and 
in  the  navy,  at  the  bar  or  on  the  bench,  in  the  pulpit  or  in 
medicine,  or  engaged  in  other  professions  or  in  mercantile 
pursuits. 


1 


CHAPTER  V 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  IN  COLONIAL  DAYS 

AS  has  already  been  stated,  the  earliest  Dutchmen  who 
came  to  New  Netherland  were  traders  and  not  set- 
tlers. If  they  found  their  way  into  the  wilds  north 
of  the  Harlem  River,  as  from  time  to  time  they  did,  it  was  to 
barter  with  the  Indians  for  pelts,  or  to  hunt  and  trap  the  wild 
animals  which  everywhere  abounded.  Their  stay  was  only 
temporary;  a  rude  hut,  a  cover  of  boughs,  or  the  canopy  of 
heaven  itself,  furnished  them  with  sufficient  covering  in  the 
way  of  habitation.  The  few  settlers  who  did  come  in  before 
1645  were  driven  out  by  the  Indian  wars  of  Keift's  adminis- 
tration, and  the  country  returned  to  its  natural  condition  of 
a  wilderness.  In  the  decade  before  the  English  occupation, 
as  we  have  seen,  permanent  settlers  began  to  come  in ;  and 
from  this  time  forward  there  was  a  slow  but  steady  improve- 
ment in  the  land  and  an  increase  in  the  population. 

Man's  first  necessity  is  food;  his  second  is  protection  from 
the  weather  and  a  place  to  sleep;  and  his  third,  clothing  to 
cover  and  protect  his  body.  To  acquire  these  three  things, 
a  civilized  man  entering  a  wilderness  would  naturally  become 
a  farmer;  and  this  we  find  to  be  so  of  the  early  settlers.  In 
fact,  it  was  not  until  well  into  the  nineteenth  century  that 
Westchester  County,  and  especially  that  portion  of  it  within 
the  Borough,  ceased  to  be  an  exclusively  agricultural  section 
and  became  at  all  a  manufacturing  one. 

86 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  87 


The  country  possessed  a  fairly  fertile  soil,  with  heavy  wood- 
lands covering  the  rolling  hills  and  valleys,  while  springs, 
brooks,  and  streams  abounded.  The  settler,  having  chosen 
his  holding  with  reference  to  abundant  water,  began  his  clear- 
ing and  planted  his  wheat,  maize,  rye,  and  other  cereals,  and 
his  peach,  apple,  and  cherry  trees;  while  nature  supplied  him 
with  many  varieties  of  berries.  The  trees  which  he  had  cut 
down  were,  by  means  of  the  axe  and  the  adze,  cut  into  proper 
lengths,  notched  and  trimmed,  and  the  log-house  of  the  Ameri- 
can pioneer  became  his  habitation.  Sometimes  it  had  only  a 
single  story,  sometimes  a  story  and  a  half;  in  the  latter  case, 
access  was  had  to  the  upper  part  by  a  rude  flight  of  steps  on  the 
outside,  or  by  a  perpendicular  ladder  within.  Two  rooms 
constituted  the  bedroom  and  kitchen,  the  latter  being  the  gen- 
eral living  room  in  which  the  family  gathered,  not  only  at  meal 
times,  but  at  all  other  times  when  their  occupations  did  not 
call  them  out  of  doors.  The  roofs  were  high  gables,  covered 
with  split  shingles;  and  when  the  cabin  possessed  the  dignity 
of  an  upper  story,  the  roof  was  pierced  with  one  or  more  dormer 
windows.  When  settlers  of  a  higher  class  or  possessed  of  more 
means  came  into  the  country,  the  sides  of  the  houses  were  cov- 
ered with  shingles  as  well  as  the  roofs,  which  latter  became  of 
that  double  slant  called  gambril. 

Westchester  County  was  not  so  distinctively  Dutch  as 
Rockland  and  other  up-river  counties,  nor  was  the  Dutch 
tongue  spoken  for  so  long  a  time.  The  Dutch  settler  usually 
built  his  house  of  stone  with  a  large  door,  the  lower  half  and 
the  upper  half  being  swung  separately,  so  that  the  upper  half 
could  be  opened  for  light  and  ventilation,  while  the  lower  half 
remained  shut,  to  prevent  the  egress  of  the  small  children  and 
the  ingress  of  poultry,  pigs,  or  other  domestic  animals.  The 
windows  were  made  of  small  panes  of  glass  and  were  protected 


88  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


by  strong  shutters  hung  on  heavy  wrought-iron  hinges,  and 
kept  open  by  a  large  catch  shaped  like  the  letter  "S."  A  porch, 
or  stoep,  extended,  if  not  across  the  front  of  the  house,  at  least 
in  front  of  the  doorway.  In  the  kitchen  was  a  huge  fire-place 
which  might  consume  a  cord  of  wood  a  day,  and  within  whose 
generous  dimensions,  in  the  winter  time,  the  whole  family, 
including  the  cat  and  the  dog,  could  find  accommodation.  The 
beds  were  great  four-posters,  the  bottom  of  sacking,  through 
which  stout  ropes  were  drawn  and  fastened  to  pegs  on  the 
frame,  while  upon  this  was  piled  the  mattress  or  feather  beds. 
In  poorer  houses,  clean  straw  or  hay  thrown  upon  the  floor, 
or  in  shelves  or  bunks  built  for  the  purpose,  answered  all  the 
purposes  of  beds. 

The  houses  of  the  manor-lords  and  the  wealthy  English 
and  Dutch  gentlemen  and  merchants  were  substantially  built 
of  stone,  or  of  black,  yellow,  and  red  bricks  especially  imported 
from  Holland  or  England.  They  usually  consisted  of  two 
stories  and  an  attic,  the  latter  for  the  use  of  the  servants.  The 
houses  were  large,  comfortable,  and  roomy;  the  last  often  a 
necessity  in  the  case  of  the  Dutch,  whose  families  showed  they 
came  of  a  prolific  race.  Not  only  the  necessities  of  life  aboun- 
ded, but  also  many  of  the  luxuries.  The  furniture  was  of 
mahogany,  the  rooms  wainscotted,  the  fire-places  of  tiles  bear- 
ing extracts  from  the  Scriptures  or  pictures  illustrating  Bibli- 
cal scenes,  while  silver  and  pewter  utensils  and  fine  Delft  or 
other  china  were  in  constant  use.  In  later  times,  fine  pictures 
by  Allston,  Sully,  Peale,  and  other  artists  hung  upon  the  walls, 
and  some  of  the  best  European  artists  were  represented  there. 
The  manor-house  of  the  Philipses  at  Yonkers  is  a  remaining 
example  of  many  of  these  homes  of  the  wealthy  gentry.  The 
carved  oak  and  ornamental  ceilings,  doors,  and  walls,  done 
by  workmen  imported  for  the  purpose,  still  show  the  taste  and 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  89 


wealth  of  the  owners.  It  must  not  be  thought  that  these  gentry 
belonged  to  the  idle  class ;  on  the  contrary,  they  were  practical 
farmers,  merchants,  or  professional  men ;  for  idleness  was  one  of 
the  deadly  sins,  and  several  European  visitors,  as  well  as  the  offi- 
cers of  the  French  army  under  Rochambeau,  have  left  their  tes- 
timony to  the  activity  of  the  gentry  of  the  American  colonies. 

The  pasturage  was  excellent,  and  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine 
had  free  range  of  the  woods.  The  Labadist  missionaries  who 
visited  New  York  in  1679  expressed  surprise  at  the  number, 
size,  and  lusciousness'  of  the  peaches,  and  noted  the  fact  that, 
while  many  of  them  lay  upon  the  ground,  the  hogs  paid  little 
attention  to  them,  as  the  hogs  were  apparently  already  gorged. 
The  cattle  not  only  furnished  milk  and  meat,  but  their  hides 
supplied  the  foot-wear  of  the  family,  being  made  into  shoes  by 
the  itinerant  shoemaker  on  his  yearly  or  half-yearly  visits. 
From  the  sheep  was  obtained  wool,  and  flax  was  early  planted 
and  cultivated;  the  hand  loom  stood  in  every  household  and 
converted  them  into  woollen  cloth  and  into  linen  thread  and 
sheeting.  The  thread  was  of  extraordinary  strength  and  the 
linen  of  a  satiny  texture.  His  homespun  not  only  clothed  the 
farmer  and  his  family,  but  he  was  able  to  send  his  surplus  to 
New  York,  whence  it  was  sent  to  other  parts  of  the  coast  and 
to  Europe.  Tobacco  was  also  added  to  the  planting  field,  as 
everybody  smoked;  and  the  Dutch  were,  beyond  all  others, 
consumers  of  the  fragrant  weed.  Added  to  these,  the  woods 
abounded  in  wild  birds  and  game,  and  deer  were  plentiful. 
The  waters  of  the  Sound,  the  Harlem,  and  the  Hudson,  and  of 
the  innumerable  brooks  and  streams  supplied  the  settlers 
with  fish ;  so  that  of  food  there  was  a  plenty,  even  upon  the 
tables  of  the  poorest,  while  upon  the  tables  of  the  well-to-do 
there  was  such  variety  and  profusion  as  to  arouse  the  com- 
ment of  such  Europeans  as  visited  the  colony. 


90 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


The  dress  of  the  yeoman  class  was  in  keeping  with  their  cir- 
cumstances. The  women  dressed  plainly  in  serviceable  and 
durable  homespun.  For  Sundays  and  "frolics,"  a  ribbon  or 
other  gewgaw  could  be  purchased  from  the  Yankee  peddler 
who  began  to  make  his  stated  rounds  with  his  pack.  The 
ordinary  dress  of  the  yeoman  himself  was  homespun  in  sum- 
mer;  while  in  winter  it  consisted  of  leather  breeches  and  apron, 
as  cloth  was  too  expensive — about  a  guinea  a  yard — for  his 
purse.  The  stockings  were  made  of  wool  raised  on  his  own 
farm  and  knitted  by  his  women  folks.  The  Dutch  adhered  to 
their  distinctive  dress  of  voluminous  petticoats  and  breeches, 
so  humorously  described  by  Irving;  but  as  time  passed  inter- 
marriages occurred  between  the  two  races,  racial  characteris- 
tics disappeared,  and  the  population  became  homogeneous. 

The  wealthy  classes  dressed  as  luxuriously  as  they  lived. 
They  followed  the  fashions  of  Europe,  though  from  one  to  two 
years  late.  Silks,  satins,  broadcloth,  taffetas,  velvets,  bro- 
cades, lutestrings,  moire  antique,  chintzes,  constantly  appear 
in  the  inventories  of  the  period.  The  gentlemen  wore  their 
silk  stockings  and  shoes  with  silver  buckles,  while  their 
coats  and  vests  were  ornamented  with  silver  buttons  usually 
made  of  coins;  while  the  ladies  were  as  anxious  to  show  their 
fine  silk  clocked  stockings  and  high-heeled  kid  slippers  as  they 
are  to-day.  The  head-gear  of  the  men  was  a  three-cornered 
hat  surmounted  with  lace  or  cockade  as  their  means  allowed 
or  the  occasion  required.  Their  hair  was  covered  by  a  wig 
finely  dressed  and  powdered.  In  time,  the  matter  of  wigs 
became  so  extravagant  that  the  law  attempted  to  regulate  it 
by  placing  a  tax  of  "three  shillings  on  every  inhabitant,  resi- 
dent, or  sojourner,  young  or  old,  within  the  colony,  that  wears 
a  wig  or  peruke  made  of  human  or  horse  hair  mixed,  by  what- 
ever denomination  the  same  may  be  distinguished."  The 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  91 


craze  for  wigs  extended  even  to  the  lowest  classes,  and  the 
sailors  and  the  rustics  imitated  their  betters  by  permitting 
their  hair  to  grow  long  and  weaving  in  with  it  horse  hair  in 
order  to  give  it  length  and  quantity,  the  whole  being  protected 
by  an  eelskin.  By  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  people  began 
once  more  to  wear  their  own  hair,  dressed  into  a  queue  and 
plentifully  sprinkled  with  powder,  which,  however,  became  so 
scarce  during  the  war  that  flour  was  substituted. 

The  women  followed  the  whole  range  of  fashions  in  the 
matter  of  head-dress,  even  to  the  towering  mountain  of  hair 
which  stood  above  the  head  higher  than  the  length  of  the  face 
below  it.  The  French  Revolution  effected  a  change  in  this 
respect,  and  the  ancient  republics  of  Greece  not  only  furnished 
democratic  ideals  of  government  for  the  French  party,  but 
fashions  as  well  for  their  imitators  in  America.  The  head  cov- 
ering varied  from  a  simple  hood  of  linen  for  the  women  of  the 
lower  classes,  to  the  immense  beaver  with  feathers,  buckles, 
and  lace  worn  by  their  wealthier  sisters.  Cloth  was  so  expen- 
sive that  it  was  no  infrequent  thing  for  a  man  in  moderate 
circumstances  to  have  a  suit  turned  inside  out  when  it  began 
to  show  wear,  in  order  to  make  it  last  longer  and  to  save 
expense.  The  shoemaker,  as  mentioned  above,  not  only  trav- 
elled from  place  to  place,  but  the  tailor  and  mantua-maker,  or 
dressmaker,  as  well;  they  were,  in  fact,  journeymen. 

There  was  a  great  distinction  between  the  various  classes 
of  society.  It  was  to  be  expected  in  an  English  colony — and 
New  York  was  probably  the  most  aristocratic  of  them  all — 
that  the  social  distinctions  of  Old  England  should  be  trans- 
planted to  the  new  field.  There  were,  then,  three  classes  in 
the  social  scale:  the  gentry,  the  tradesmen,  and  the  yeomanry, 
of  whom  the  last  were,  of  course,  the  most  numerous.  The 
line  between  the  gentry,  those  of  landed  estates  or  descended 


92 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


from  those  who  were  gentlemen  at  home,  as  they  usually  called 
England,  and  the  other  classes  was  strongly  marked.  While, 
perhaps,  the  upper  classes  were  not  supercilious  nor  the  lower 
obsequious,  there  was  condescension  on  the  one  hand  and 
deference  on  the  other.  The  influx  of  New  Englanders,  whose 
democratic  ideas  rendered  them  obnoxious  to  the  phlegmatic 
Dutch  as  well  as  to  the  English  New  Yorker,  tended  to  break 
down  this  barrier,  and  the  Revolution  and  the  Constitution 
together  swept  it  away  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Some  historians,  so  far  as  New  York  is  concerned,  ascribe  the 
revolt  against  the  mother  country  to  the  higher  classes,  whose 
interests  or  ambitions  led  them  into  it.  That  they  did  not 
voice  the  great  mass  of  the  population,  nor  carry  it  with  them, 
is  shown  very  strikingly  in  Westchester  County,  which  became 
Tory,  or  at  least  remained  neutral — or  as  neutral  as  the  con- 
tending parties  allowed  it  to  be — during  the  struggle.  The 
mass  of  the  inhabitants  considered  the  strife  as  one  in  which 
their  betters  had  a  greater  stake  then  they  themselves. 

The  principal  cause  of  the  difference  in  caste  was  due  to  the 
land  tenure.  Many  of  the  farmers  were  tenants  of  the  landed 
gentry,  occupying  their  lands  on  long  and  liberal  leases,  which 
did  not,  at  first,  begin  to  pay  the  landlords  for  their  expense 
in  obtaining  settlers,  but  which,  as  time  passed,  became 
valuable.  The  New  Englanders  frequently  preferred  the 
leasehold  property  to  holding  property  in  fee.  In  the  former 
case,  they  could,  if  seized  by  that  desire  for  improvement  of 
which  Irving  speaks,  quit  at  the  expiration  of  the  lease  or  even 
before,  by  disposing  of  their  betterments  to  a  new-comer  and 
migrating  to  "green  fields  and  pastures  new."  If  they  were 
owners  in  fee,  they  were,  to  a  certain  extent,  bound  to  the  land 
which  they  owned.  There  thus  existed  between  landlord  and 
tenant  that  relation  which  has  prevailed  in  England  since 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  93 


Saxon  days,  and  which,  in  our  own,  sets  off  by  themselves  a 
class  of  gentlemen  who  are  known  distinctively  as  landed 
gentry. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  slavery  was  introduced  into  the 
mainland  of  America  by  the  Dutch,  when  a  vessel  of  that 
nationality  sold  to  the  planters  at  Jamestown,  Virginia,  a  num- 
ber of  negro  slaves  in  16 19.  One  of  the  earliest  promises  held 
out  to  prospective  settlers  in  New  Amsterdam  by  the  Com- 
pany was  that  a  sufficient  number  of  negro  slaves  would  be 
furnished  to  the  settlers.  The  institution  of  slavery  existed 
all  through  Dutch  and  English  days,  and  even  after  New  York 
became  a  State. 1  Slaves,  however,  were  not  held  in  large 
numbers  as  in  the  southern  colonies,  nor  were  they  usually 
provided  with  separate  quarters.  They  ordinarily  slept  in 
the  attics  or  upper  stories  of  the  houses  of  their  masters,  and 
ate  their  meals  in  the  kitchens  after  their  master  and  his  family 
had  finished.  They  were  members  of  the  family,  and  the 
farmer  who  owned  one  or  two  worked  in  the  fields  alongside 
of  them,  the  same  as  the  small  farmer  does  to-day  with  his 
hired  men.  Their  owners  treated  them  kindly,  and  did  not 
have  unlimited  power  over  them  in  the  way  of  punishment. 
Flogging  was  not  alone  for  blacks,  but  for  whites  also.  The 
Dutch,  in  particular,  treated  their  black  dependents  with 
much  kindness  and  humanity.  During  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, the  value  of  a  negro  was  about  one  hundred  dollars  in 
our  money,  of  a  negress,  two  hundred  dollars.  The  traffic 
began  to  decline  in  1718;  and  in  1755,  there  were  but  seventy- 
three  African  slaves  in  the  whole  county  of  Westchester. 

1  When  it  was  a  pretty  certai  i  fact  that  slavery  was  to  be  abolished  in 
the  State,  many  of  those  who  owned  slaves  sent  them  into  the  Southern 
States  for  sale,  so  that  there  would  be  no  loss  of  property  or  money.  The 
plan  of  freeing  the  slaves  was  one  of  gradual  manumission,  and  the  last 
slave  held  in  New  York  State  was  one  belonging  to  the  Morris  family  (1827). 


94 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Indians  were  also  reduced  to  a  condition  of  slavery  in  the  early 
days  of  the  colony,  but  the  Indian  has  never  shown  himself  to 
be  capable  of  hard  manual  labor — that  he  has  left  to  his  squaw. 
Captain  Graydon  of  the  American  army,  while  a  prisoner  at 
Flatbush  during  the  Revolution,  wrote:  "Their  blacks,  when 
they  had  them,  were  very  free  and  familiar;  sometimes  saun- 
tering among  the  whites  at  meal  time,  with  hat  on  head,  and 
freely  joining  occasionally  in  conversation,  as  if  they  were  one 
and  all  of  the  same  family."  Notwithstanding  this  familiarity, 
there  was  no  " amalgamation"  between  the  two  races  until  the 
coming  of  the  British  army;  and  the  first  appearance  of  a 
mulatto  child  "produced  emotions  of  surprise  and  dislike." 

At  the  session  of  the  State  Legislature  of  1817,  Governor 
Tompkins  recommended  the  passage  of  an  act  abolishing 
slavery  in  the  State  from  and  after  July  4,  1827.  By  a  previous 
act  of  the  Legislature  under  date  of  March  29,  1799:  "Every 
child  born  within  this  State  after  the  4th  day  of  April,  1799, 
shall  be  free,  but  shall  remain  the  servant  of  his  or  her  mother 
until  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years,  if  a  boy,  and  twenty-five 
years  if  a  girl."  This  was  supplemented  by  another  act  of 
April  8,  1 80 1 ;  and  the  Legislature  of  181 7  unanimously  adopted 
the  recommendation  of  the  Governor,  abolishing  slavery  com- 
pletely in  1827. 

Another  kind  of  enforced  labor  was  also  employed  in  the 
colony,  that  of  the  indentured,  or  bond  servant.  This  was  a 
man  or  woman  who,  desirous  of  coming  to  the  New  World, 
received  a  passage  from  the  ship-master,  with  the  agreement 
that  upon  arrival  his  or  her  services  were  to  be  sold  for  a 
certain  period,  usually  five  years,  to  the  highest  bidder;  the 
ship-master  pocketed  the  sum  paid  and  was  thus  reimbursed 
for  his  trouble  and  expense.  Sometimes  persons  were  tre- 
panned in  England  and  disposed  of  in  this  way  by  persons 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  95 


whose  interests  would  be  favorably  affected  by  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  seized  person. 1  The  person  whose  services  were 
disposed  of  became  legally  bound  to  the  buyer,  who  thus 
became  the  owner,  or  master,  of  the  bond-servant  until  the 
expiration  of  the  term  of  service,  when  the  servant  became 
free.  The  same  laws  and  penalties,  practically,  applied  to  a 
runaway  bond-servant  as  to  a  runaway  slave. 

The  class  of  indentured  servants  was  not  composed  of  the 
vicious  and  the  wicked.  Most  of  them  were  poor  and  unfor- 
tunate and  thought  they  could  do  better  in  a  new  land  than 
in  the  thickly  settled  countries  of  Europe;  sometimes  pique 
drove  them  to  the  step,  sometimes  disappointed  love,  or  dis- 
sipation, or  disappointment.  But  there  was  another  class  of 
servants  composed  of  criminals  and  malefactors  who  were  sold 
into  the  plantations  for  life  or  for  a  certain  period  of  time 
as  determined  by  the  judges  who  sentenced  them.  Their 
services  were  sold  to  the  highest  bidder  as  in  the  case  of  the  in- 
dentured servant.  When  we  recall  the  number  of  crimes  that 
were  capital  in  England,  even  up  to  the  nineteenth  century,  we 
may  believe  that  those  who  escaped  the  hangman  were  not 
usually  guilty  of  what  we  should  consider  in  these  days  very 
heinous  crimes.  Of  these  transported  men  and  women,  com- 
paratively few  reached  New  York ;  there  was  a  greater  demand 
for  them  in  the  southern  colonies  and  in  the  West  Indies. 

In  regard  to  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  the  English  laws 
prevailed,  with  such  additions  and  modifications  as  the  con- 
ditions of  a  new  country  would  require.  There  was  the  same 
long,  ghastly  list  of  capital  crimes;  and  the  stocks,  the  pillory, 
and  the  whipping-post  stood  always  ready  for  the  minor 
offenders.    In  the  court  records  of  the  borough-town  of  West- 

1  The  uncle  of  David  Balfour,  in  Stevenson's  story,  Kidnapped,  at- 
tempted to  get  rid  of  his  nephew  in  this  way. 


96  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 

Chester  is  the  case  of  one  offender,  convicted  of  "  hogg  stealing," 
who  was  sentenced  to  pay  eleven  pounds  for  the  stolen  ani- 
mals, or  to  receive  forty  lashes  upon  the  back.  There  is 
another  record  of  one  member  of  a  jury  "hanging"  the  jury 
and  being  fined  by  the  court  therefor.  The  case  of  Judge 
Morris  shows  that  there  were  honorable,  upright  men  upon 
the  bench,  and  this,  too,  at  a  time  when  the  English  judiciary 
had  not  lost  its  subserviency  to  the  crown,  nor  completely 
departed  from  the  harsh  and  brutal  manners  instituted  by  the 
infamous  Jeffreys. 

Education  among  the  rural  Dutch  was  a  much  neglected 
quantity.  There  were  schools  in  New  Amsterdam  and  in 
Beverwyck  (later,  Albany);  but  in  the  country  districts  the 
mother  was  the  teacher,  and  the  Bible  and  the  Catechism  the 
only  text-books;  so  that  the  Dutchman,  while  not  illiterate, 
was  certainly  uneducated.  The  children  of  the  better  classes 
had  more  advantages  and  were  sometimes  sent  to  the  great 
University  of  Leyden,  especially  if  the  young  man  intended  to 
become  a  dominie.  The  daughters  were  trained  to  be  house- 
wives and  mothers;  to  cook  and  to  clean  with  that  thorough- 
ness which  has  become  proverbial  of  the  Dutch,  to  sew  and  to 
knit,  to  spin  and  to  weave,  and  to  take  care  of  the  poultry  and 
the  household  generally. 

It  was  not  until  the  days  of  the  English  that  anything  in  the 
way  of  schools  was  established,  and  these  were  far  from  our 
modern  idea  of  a  rural  school.  In  the  more  eastern  portions 
of  the  county,  adjacent  to  Connecticut  and  settled  by  the 
people  of  that  colony,  the  school-house  was  earlier  established, 
the  Yankee  necessity  of  a  school  having  been  recognized  by  the 
General  Court,  or  Legislature,  of  Massachusetts  as  early  as 
1645-47,  and  carried  by  Winthrop,  Davenport,  and  others  into 
the  colony  of  Connecticut  from  the  mother  colony.  The 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  97 

Connecticut  settlers  of  the  "Ten  Farms"  at  Eastchester  early 
set  aside  a  piece  of  land  for  school  purposes  and  erected  a 
school-house  in  1683.  The  same  site  was  occupied  for  school 
purposes  for  a  period  of  about  two  hundred  years.  The 
English  settlers  of  Westchester,  early  established  a  school. 

The  school  and  schoolmaster  there  were  maintained  by  the 
Propagation  Society,  the  latter  being  assigned  from  London 
and  paid  an  allowance  by  the  society.  The  inhabitants  also 
contributed  toward  the  support  of  both,  and  the  school- 
master assisted  the  rector  by  instructing  his  pupils  in  the 
Catechism.  The  first  recorded  schoolmaster  in  Westchester 
was  Edward  Fitzgerald,  in  1709. 

October  30,  1709,  the  Reverend  John  Bartow  writes: 
"We  want  very  much  a  fixed  school  at  Westchester;  if  Mr. 
Daniel  Clark,  my  neighbor,  now  in  England,  should  wait  upon 
you,  desirous  of  that  employment,  I  recommend  him  as  a 
person  worthy  of  it;  being  of  good  report,  a  constant  com- 
municant, and,  being  a  clergyman's  son,  has  had  a  pious  and 
learned  education."  The  recommendation  was  apparently 
effective,  as  Mr.  Daniel  Clark  was  schoolmaster  from  17 10  to 
I7I3- 

In  this  latter  year,  according  to  the  reports  of  the  society: 
"  Mr.  Charles  Glover  is  appointed  schoolmaster  at  Westchester 
with  a  salary  of  £18  per  annum,  as  he  is  recommended  under 
the  character  of  a  person,  sober  and  diligent,  well  affected  to 
the  Church  of  England,  and  competently  skilled  in  reading, 
writing,  arithmetic,  psalmody,  and  the  Latin  tongue,  provided 
he  comply  with  the  Society's  rules  in  sending  certificates  of 
the  number  of  his  scholars."  He  held  the  position  until  17 19. 
The  society's  abstracts  for  that  year  say:  "To  Mr.  William 
Forster,  schoolmaster  at  Westchester,  who  has  been  recom- 
mended as  a  person  very  well  qualified  to  instruct  the  youth 


98 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


in  the  principles  of  religion  and  virtue,  ten  pounds  per  annum 
is  allowed;  and  a  gratuity  of  £10  has  been  given  him,  in  con- 
sideration of  his  past  services  and  his  present  circumstances." 

In  an  abstract  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  Forster  reports:  "I 
have  at  present  thirty-five  scholars,  whom  I  catechise  every 
Saturday,  and  also  every  Sunday  that  Mr.  Bartow  goes  to 
another  part  of  the  parish."  Also,  from  an  extract  of  1720: 
"from  Mr.  Forster,  schoolmaster  at  Westchester  in  the  Prov- 
ince of  New  York,  that  he  takes  all  the  care  he  can  of  the 
children  which  are  sent  to  him,  and  has  upwards  of  thirty 
scholars,  which  he  instructs  in  the  Church  Catechism." 

In  1722,  Mr.  Bartow  reports  "that  they  are  repairing  the 
church  there  [Westchester]  with  the  voluntary  contributions 
of  the  people,  procured  chiefly  by  the  zeal  and  care  of  Mr. 
Forster,  the  schoolmaster  there." 

In  1724,  in  answer  to  questions  from  the  society,  Mr.  Bartow 
gives  an  exact  account  of  his  cure.    He  writes: 

"Question — Have  you  in  your  parish  any  public  school  for 
the  instruction  of  youth ;  if  you  have,  is  it  endowed,  and  who  is 
the  master? 

"Answer — We  have  a  public  school  at  Westchester,  of  which 
Mr.  Forster  is  the  society's  schoolmaster,  and  we  have  private 
schools  in  other  places;  no  endowment;  some  families  of  the 
Town  of  Pelham  that  are  adjacent  come  to  Eastchester 
church." 

In  November,  1729,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Standard  answers 

the  same  questions  as  follows: 

"I  say  there  are  three  schools  and  three  schoolmasters. 
The  first  school  is  at  Westchester,  William  Forrester,  master, 
who  has  a  salary  from  the  Venerable  Society,  whom  we 
have  the  honor  to  serve.  The  second  is  at  Eastchester,  one 
Delpech,  master,  who  is  very  well  adapted  and  fitted  for  that 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  99 

business  and  is  well  spoken  of  as  being  diligent  in  it:  the 
third  is  at  New  Rochelle,  where  both  French  and  English  are 
taught.  The  two  last  have  no  other  encouragement  than 
what  the  parents  of  the  children  taught,  do  give." 

Mr.  Forster  remained  as  schoolmaster  until  1743.  That 
he  became  a  person  of  considerable  consequence  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  in  1733  he  was  put  up  by  the  strong  De  Lancey 
party  as  the  opponent  of  Judge  Lewis  Morris  in  the  election  of 
that  year  for  representative  in  the  Assembly. 

In  1744,  Mr.  Basil  Bartow  was  appointed  schoolmaster  at  the 
request  of  the  church  authorities.  The  King's  commissary 
reported  as  follows: 

"He  is  the  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Bartow,  late  the  Society's 
worthy  missionary  there.  He  is  a  person  of  good  temper t 
sober,  and  pious,  and  well  affected  to  the  present  govern- 
ment; conformable  to  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the 
Church,  and  exceedingly  well  qualified  for  the  instruction  of 
children." 

Mr.  Bartow  remained  as  schoolmaster  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  or  until  1762,  when  we  learn  from  the  report  of  Rector 
Milner:  "that  the  school  is  still  vacant,  and  deprived  of 
a  teacher,  but  I  petition  the  Society  to  continue  their  bounty 
to  some  worthy  person  who  shall  be  chosen  schoolmaster;  as 
the  school  is  a  nursery  for  the  Church  and  of  great  service  in 
these  parts." 

In  1763,  he  writes  again: 

"I  express  my  own  and  my  people's  sense  of  the  favour 
done  us,  in  giving  us  leave  to  choose  a  schoolmaster  for 
this  place,  tho'  we  have  not  yet  been  able  to  find  a  person 
properly  qualified  for  the  office."     In  1764,  he  writes:  "I 


ioo  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


have,  in  pursuance  of  the  powers  given  me  by  the  Society, 
appointed  Mr.  Nathaniel  Seabury,  a  son  of  the  late  worthy 
missionary  at  Hempstead,  Long  Island,  to  be  schoolmaster 
at  Westchester." 

Nathaniel  Seabury  was  the  brother  of  the  Reverend  Samuel 
Seabury,  later,  rector  of  the  parish.  He  remained  as  school- 
master till  1768,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  George  Youngs, 
whose  services  lasted  until  1772.  The  position  was  apparently 
vacant  till  1774,  when  Mr.  Gott  became  the  holder  of  the 
office  and  continued  in  it  until  the  Revolution.  After  that, 
the  school  ceased  to  be  an  appanage  of  the  church  and  became 
an  object  of  support  from  the  town.  According  to  the  town 
records,  the  first  public  school  in  Westchester  was  established 
in  1798.  Later,  the  township  was  divided  into  three  school 
districts:  Westchester  Village,  Bear  Swamp  and  Throgg's 
Neck.  The  present  fine  building  in  Westchester  was  erected 
by  the  city  in  1897. 

THE  VENERABLE  PROPAGATION  SOCIETY'S  SCHOOLMASTERS  AT 

WESTCHESTER 


Time  of 

Appointment 

Schoolmasters 

Salary 

1709 

Edward  Fitzgerald 

18  pounds  per  annum 

1710 

Daniel  Clark 

n 

n          n  a 

1713 

Charles  Glover 

tt          tt  tt 

1719 

William  Forster 

10 

a          tt  n 

1743 

Basil  Bartow 

<< 

a             a  a 

1764 

Nathaniel  Seabury 

tt 

a             a  a 

1768 

George  Youngs 

tt 

tt             11  tt 

1774 

Mr.  Gott 

it 

a            it  a 

The  occupation  of  the  various  sections  of  the  Borough  dur- 
ing the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  by  a  class  of  English- 
men, who  may  be  termed  gentlemen  farmers,  rendered  the 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  101 


matter  of  education  for  their  children  a  very  important  one ; 
and  it  was  met  by  the  employment  of  a  schoolmaster  by 
families  living  within  a  convenient  distance  of  the  schoolhouse, 
or  of  the  residence  of  one  of  the  inhabitants  used  for  the 
purpose,  each  family  paying  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
children  sent.  The  schoolmaster  was  frequently  the  minister, 
who  added  to  his  small  stipend  by  giving  instruction  in  the 
three  "RV  and  in  the  rudiments  of  the  humanities. 

The  Reverend  John  Peter  Tetard,  commonly  known  as 
"  Dominie  Tetard,"  was  born  in  Switzerland  and  graduated 
from  the  University  of  Lausanne.  He  preached  to  French 
congregations  at  Charleston,  S.  C.  and  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
and,  after  his  removal  to  Kingsbridge,  at  Fordham  church. 
In  1772,  he  opened  a  French  boarding-school  at  Kingsbridge, 
on  the  height  overlooking  the  present  railroad  station,  which  is 
called  after  him,  Tetard's  Hill.  Here  he  taught  not  only  the 
French  language,  but  "the  most  useful  sciences,  such  as 
geography,  the  doctrine  of  the  spheres,  ancient  and  modern 
history,  etc." 

In  Rivington's  Gazette  of  February  23,  1775,  there  appears 
the  following  advertisement : 

"To  the  Public,  Samuel  Seabury,  M.A.,  Rector  of  the  Parish 
of  Westchester,  hath  opened  a  School  in  that  Town,  and 
offers  his  Services  to  prepare  young  Gentlemen  for  the 
College,  the  Compting-House,  or  any  genteel  Business  for 
which  Parents  or  Guardians  may  design  them.  .  .  .  Board 
(Washing  included)  may  be  had  in  unexceptionable  Families, 
at  about  twenty  Pounds  per  Ann.  and  the  Tuition  will  be  at 
six  Pounds,  New  York  Currency,  and  eight  Shillings  for 
Fire- wood." 

In  fact,  the  home  churches  that  sent  ministers  to  the  colony 
intended  that  they  should  not  only  preach  the  gospel,  but 


102 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


also  educate  the  youth  of  both  sexes.  Sometimes,  a  Yankee 
pedagogue1 — a  graduate  of  Yale,  perhaps — would  occupy  the 
position,  which  then,  more  than  now,  was  a  position  of  honor; 
as  the  "scholemaster"  was,  in  addition  to  his  position  in  the 
school,  clerk,  chorister,  and  visitor  to  the  sick,  or  almoner, 
and  often  a  member  of  the  corporation. 

After  obtaining  all  the  education  it  was  possible  for  the  local 
schoolmaster  to  impart,  and  having  reached  the  mature  age 
of  twelve  or  thirteen,  the  pupil  was  ready  for  Yale  College  or 
Nassau  Hall  at  Princeton,  the  latter  being  generally  preferred. 
The  sons  of  the  wealthiest  merchants  were  sometimes  educated 
in  the  English  colleges;  and  when  King's  College  (now  Colum- 
bia University)  was  founded,  it  received  its  share  of  the  co- 
lonial youth.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  or  twenty,  the  young  man 
took  his  degree,  and  was  then  an  educated  gentleman ;  but  the 
education  imparted  at  the  best  of  the  colleges  did  not  surpass 
that  of  our  best  high  schools  of  the  present  day.  Yet  an  edu- 
cation that  could  produce  such  graduates  as  Jefferson,  Morris, 
Izard,  Adams,  and  many  others  of  like  fame  and  character, 
must  have  been  very  thorough.  It  wras  not  until  long  after 
the  establishment  of  the  new  government  that  the  matter  of 
education  became  one  of  general  importance  and  one  of  which 
the  State  took  cognizance  and  control. 

No  newspapers  were  published  in  Westchester  County  until 
long  after  the  Revolution,  but  it  is  stated  that  the  colonial 
newsletters  and  journals  were  eagerly  read  and  discussed  by 
the  inhabitants,  many  of  whom  were  subscribers.2 

1  Ichabod  Crane,  in  Irving's  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow,  and  Jason  New- 
come,  in  Cooper's  tale  of  Satanstoc,  will  be  recalled. 

a  The  first  newspaper  published  in  the  Borough  was  the  Westchester 
Patriot,  which  was  issued  by  a  Mr.  Lopez  at  West  Farms  for  a  short  time 
in  1812.  The  Westchester  Gazette  was  commenced  in  Morrisania  in  1849. 
Stephen  Angell  was  editor  for  some  time,  but  the  paper  was  discontinued 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  103 


As  already  stated,  the  occupation  of  the  inhabitants  was 
farming.  Several  travellers  through  the  county  in  later  co- 
lonial days  have  left  their  impressions  of  what  they  observed, 
and  state  that  even  in  the  large  villages  each  resident  had 
his  farm  of  several  acres,  so  that  neighbors  were  not  very 
close  ones.  Nor  was  it  necessary  that  they  should  be ;  for  the 
Indian  had  been  brought  into  subjection,  and  had,  by  1750, 
retired  to  the  wilder  regions  of  the  Highlands,  where,  at  Lake 
Osceola,  he  had  his  last  village  before  dying  away  forever  as 
a  race.  Single  families  or  members  of  the  aboriginal  owners 
of  the  soil  might  be  found  occasionally  scattered  through  the 
county,  supporting  themselves  by  hunting  and  fishing,  or 
by  making  brooms  and  baskets.  Even  the  mechanics,  the 
carpenters,  the  masons,  the  painters,  the  blacksmiths,  were 
farmers  in  a  small  way  in  addition  to  their  trades.  The 
tavern-keeper  and  the  store-keeper  also  had  their  farms  ad- 
joining their  tavern  or  store. 

There  was  no  manufacturing  worthy  of  the  name ;  some  hats 
were  made  of  the  skin  of  the  beaver,  which  could  be  found 
in  nearly  all  the  streams.  Manufacturing  did  not  begin  until 
the  days  immediately  preceding  the  Revolution,  when  the 

about  1856.  The  Westchester  Co.  Gazette,  an  organ  for  the  Old  and  New 
Villages  [of  Morrisania],  was  first  published  at  West  Farms  in  1849  by 
John  T.  Cogswell,  but  was  removed  to  Mott  Haven  on  August  5,  1850. 
A  Democratic  paper,  the  Westchester  Co.  Journal,  was  issued  by  James 
Stillman  in  1853;  and  the  Westchester  Times  was  published  by  Dubois  B. 
Frisbee  in  1864.  There  are  now  published  in  the  Borough  two  daily 
papers,  the  Bronx  Borough  Record  and  Times,  Republican,  and  the  North 
Side  News,  Democratic.  The  weekly  edition  of  the  first  began  in  1864 
and  the  daily  in  March,  1902;  the  latter  was  first  published  as  a  weekly 
in  1897,  and  as  a  daily  in  October,  1901.  The  following  weekly  papers 
are  also  published:  the  Union  at  Melrose  (Democratic,  1869);  the  Globe 
(Republican),  the  Sentinel  (Independent),  the  Independent  (Democratic), 
all  in  Westchester  Village;  the  Bulletin  (Independent)  in  the  Twenty- 
third  Ward;  the  German- American  (Democratic)  at  Wakefield,  and  the 
Bronx  Home  News,  (Independent,  January,  1907.) 


104 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


N on- Importation  agreement  forced  the  colonists  to  make  many 
goods  which  they  had  previously  bought  in  England.  Besides, 
the  English  laws  forbade  manufacturing  in  the  colonies,  in 
order  to  give  the  British  manufacturer  a  monopoly,  which  was 
further  secured  to  him  by  the  obnoxious  Navigation  laws. 
During  the  war,  the  American  was  thrown  on  his  own  resources 
for  many  articles  which  he  could  not  smuggle  in  from  the 
Dutch  ports  in  the  West  Indies,  and  was  forced  into  making 
many  articles  of  necessity. 

Grist-mills  and  saw-mills  were  located  wherever  there  was 
sufficient  water  power,  as  on  Tippett's  Brook,  which  was 
dammed  for  the  purpose,  or  on  Eastchester  Creek,  where  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  gave  power  to  turn  the  undershot  wheel 
of  Reid's  mill.  It  is  probable  that  Jonas  Bronk  built  a  mill 
about  three  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  which  bears  his 
name. 

On  August  1 6,  1680,  the  town  of  Westchester  gave  to  Rich- 
ardson and  Jessup,  the  owners  of  the  West  Farms,  the  privi- 
lege of  locating  a  saw-mill  and  a  grist-mill  upon  the  Bronx 
River.  On  April  2,  171 1,  this  privilege,  together  with  one 
saw-mill  and  three  grist-mills,  was  conveyed  by  Tryntje 
Byvanck,  widow  of  Evert  Byvanck,  to  William  Provost,  from 
whom  it  passed  to  the  original  Etienne,  or  Stephen,  De  Lancey, 
who,  by  will  dated  March  4,  1735,  devised  "unto  my  son  Peter 
and  to  his  heirs,  all  my  mills,  mill-house,  mill-boat,  farm  and 
land,  and  all  and  every  the  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging, 
situate  and  being  in  the  county  of  Westchester,  upon  Bronck  s 
river,  lately  known  as  the  mills  of  William  Richardson."  In 
consequence  of  this  inheritance,  the  heir  became  known  as 
"Peter  of  the  Mills,"  and  the  locality  as  De  Lancey's  Mills,  as 
well  as  West  Farms. 

Mill  Brook,  which  divided  the  manor  of  Morrisania  into 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  105 


two  nearly  equal  parts,  derived  its  name  from  the  presence 
of  mills  upon  its  banks.  The  date  of  their  erection  is  uncer- 
tain ;  but  in  the  will  of  Colonel  Lewis  Morris,  first  of  the  name, 
of  the  date  of  February  7,  1690,  he  bequeaths  to  his  wife, 
Mary  Morris,  "the  lands  thereof  cont'g  about  2000  acres  best 
m  or  1,  tog'r  with  all  houses,  barns,  mills,  etc." 

In  1666,  Governor  Nicolls  granted  "certain  saw-mills  to 
Thomas  Delaval,  John  Verveelen,  and  Daniel  Turner,  &c, 
lying  over  against  Vercher's  or  Hogg  Island,  in  the  Sound, 
where  a  passage  hath  been  made  to  ford  over  from  this  island 
to  the  maine."  These  mills  must  have  been  on  the  Bronx 
Kills  and  operated  by  the  tide.  A  mill  was  also  erected  on 
Cromwell's  Creek  in  1760,  by  General  Lewis  Morris,  the  Signer, 
on  the  western  limits  of  his  land.  All  of  these  mills  were 
sources  of  considerable  income  to  their  owners,  as  timber  was 
plentiful,  and  the  grain  crops  of  the  farmers  had  to  be  ground. 

The  general  population  has  been  described  as  poor.  Of 
money,  there  was  little;  what  business  was  transacted  was  by 
means  of  barter,  until  later  days.  During  the  Dutch  days, 
sewant,  or  wampum,  adopted  from  the  Indians,  was  the  usual 
currency.  This  was  made  from  the  shell  of  the  periwinkle, 
which  abounded  in  great  quantities  on  the  shores  of  Long 
Island ;  this  made  the  white  sewant.  A  more  valuable  sewant, 
called  black,  was  made  from  the  quahaug,  or  hard  clam.  In 
either  case,  the  shells  were  broken  or  ground  away  until  they 
became  small  beads;  four  of  them  made  a  stuyver,  or  two, 
a  cent.  When  strung,  a  fathom  of  them  was  worth  four 
guilders,  or  $1.66.  The  wampum  was  usually  measured  in 
spans ;  and  when  the  Indians  sold  their  pelts,  they  selected  for 
their  traders  those  who  could  stretch  farthest  from  little 
finger  to  thumb.  This  currency  was  capable  of  being  easily 
counterfeited,  and  strings  of  it  were  manufactured  in  Holland 


io6  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


of  porcelain  beads,  which,  however,  did  not  deceive  the 
Indians.  This  sort  of  currency  soon  depreciated ;  and,  though 
the  authorities  enacted  laws  fixing  its  value  from  time  to  time, 
it  soon  became  worthless — the  fate  of  all  fiat  money.  Beaver 
skins  had  an  intrinsic  value,  and  they  became  the  basis  of  all 
the  larger  transactions,  being  rated  in  1658  as  high  as  sixteen 
guilders. 

With  the  advent  of  the  English,  a  change  came  in  the  cur- 
rency, and  more  silver  was  introduced,  though  not  necessarily 
of  British  mintage.  Until  long  after  the  Revolution,  all  sorts 
of  gold  and  silver  coins  were  in  circulation:  English,  Spanish, 
French,  Dutch,  Portuguese;  joes,  half -joes,  pieces  of  eight, 
pistoles,  guilders,  shillings,  guineas,  pistareens,  milled  dollars, 
and  many  others.  During  the  colonial  period,  in  all  the  colo- 
nies, various  makeshifts  were  resorted  to  in  order  to  provide 
a  currency:  in  Newfoundland,  dried  codfish  was  used  for  the 
purpose.  All  the  colonies  issued  paper  currency,  and  New 
York  was  no  exception.  We  often  come  across  in  colonial 
papers  and  documents  the  expression,  "New  York  currency," 
or  "current  funds  of  New  York"  (see  Rev.  Samuel  Seabury's 
advertisement  on  page  101).  This  paper,  issued  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  provincial  assemblies  had  no  intrinsic  value,  and 
was  always  depreciated.  Its  value  fluctuated  so  that  it  is 
impossible  to  give  its  relative  worth  with  good  money.  The 
Reverend  John  Bartow,  writing  on  July  13,  1724,  in  answer 
to  the  question  of  the  Bishop  of  London  in  regard  to  his  salary 
says:  "The  value  of  my  living  is  £50,  sterling,  of  New  York 
money;  which  is  about  £32,  10  sterling,  paid  not  without  much 
difficulty  and  loss."  There  were  no  banks,  and  people  kept 
their  money  in  their  houses.  In  the  houses  of  the  rich,  large 
sums,  sometimes  running  into  thousands  of  pounds  sterling, 
were  kept  in  the  great,  heavy  oak  chests  whose  great  strips 


^^^^^^  ^  

fas 

to] 
r  1 

TWO    POUNDS.     AS>.  43/?<f  | 
nra  EatD  of  tfje  Cob™  of  ^^^^^ 

-°  New-York,  tfjte  Bill  0)aU  be        af|KP#  >1 
received  in  all  Payments  in  the  Treafwy,               3SS\.  Bl  v 

for  TWO  POUNDS.                 ISA^^^Mj  ] 

NEW-YORK,                           \l  T  @^3\0TK 
February,  i6,  i7».             /  „                        S    ilU^JH  /K 

MtvnMn  mr~ni 

M                        ^"^^sl^J            'Tis  Death  to  counterfeit. 

f  '     ^  Jj  rA-'V^^^^  »Tis  Death  to  counterfeit. 

*##*#♦#*.•#*#********•*•**»* 


Facsimiles  of  New  York  Colonial  Currency. 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  107 

of  iron  and  heavy  locks  were  sufficient  protection  against  the 
robber  of  that  day,  and  which,  for  further  security,  were  kept 
in  the  bedroom  of  the  proprietor.  A  mattress,  a  stocking,  or 
a  cuddy-hole  was  equally  safe  for  the  small  possessions  of  the 
poor. 

When  the  Revolution  occurred,  the  Congress  was  hard 
pushed  to  provide  funds,  and  so  quantities  of  Continental 
currency  were  issued.  The  more  of  it  that  was  issued,  the  less 
did  its  value  become,  as  there  was  nothing  back  of  it  to  give 
it  value.  After  the  French  alliance  of  1780,  hard  money 
became  less  scarce;  though  in  1782,  the  Continental  currency 
was  so  depreciated  that  it  took  five  hundred  dollars  of  it  to  pay 
for  one  dollar's  worth  of  merchandise  or  labor.  Acts  of  the 
legislatures,  and  even  of  Congress  itself,  could  not  make  the 
Colonial  and  Continental  currency  pass  at  its  face  value,  even 
when  penalties  were  attached  for  failure  to  accept  it.  The 
same  conditions  prevailed  after  the  Peace  of  1783;  and  the 
experiences  of  the  period  from  1783  to  1789,  which  Professor 
John  Fiske  calls  the  "Critical  Period  of  American  History," 
resulted  in  the  safeguarding  of  the  money  question  in  the 
Constitution  by  giving  the  Federal  Government  absolute 
power  over  the  issue  of  coin  and  currency. 

During  the  Revolution,  the  British  paid  in  good  money  for 
what  they  bought,  so  that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the 
farmers  of  a  section  so  close  to  the  British  base  of  supplies  at 
New  York  as  was  the  Borough,  were  more  inclined  to  be  loyal- 
ists or  neutrals  than  to  be  ardent  patriots.  After  all,  a  man's 
politics  are  usually  in  his  pocket;  and  when  we  take  into 
account  the  material  inducements  to  enlist,  we  can  see  why 
the  Tory  regiments  of  Rogers  and  De  Lancey  were  recruited 
principally  from  the  sections  adjacent  to  New  York. 

So  far  in  this  chapter  we  have  treated  of  the  practical  side 


io8  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


of  colonial  life;  a  few  words  will  suffice  for  the  lighter  side,  the 
frolics,  the  amusements,  the  weddings,  and  the  funerals. 

The  Dutch  were  great  for  frolics,  as  they  were  termed,  and 
the  English  readily  took  up  the  customs  of  their  neighbors. 
The  negro  is  an  inborn  musician  and  he  always  served  as  the 
fiddler  upon  these  occasions,  which  generally  took  place  in  the 
winter  time,  when  the  snow  upon  the  ground  made  travel 
quick  and  pleasant.  Gathering  at  the  home  of  some  farmer 
or  at  a  convenient  tavern,  the  frolickers  indulged  in  dancing, 
card  playing,  and  drinking  until  daylight  made  its  appearance. 
Wrestling  was  also  a  favorite  amusement  with  the  English,  as 
well  as  horse-racing  and  hunting,  the  latter  in  the  winter  time 
when  their  Dutch  neighbors  were  skating  on  the  frozen  ponds 
or  coasting  down  the  snow-covered  hills.  The  Maypole  was 
erected  on  May-day,  and  everybody  celebrated  it  as  a  holiday 
in  the  manner  of  Merry  England.  The  bands  of  children  who 
throng  the  New  York  parks  during  the  month  of  May  keep 
alive  this  particular  abomination  of  the  Puritan.  The  Fifth 
of  November  was  also  celebrated  with  bonfires  and  the  burn- 
ing of  effigies,  in  memory  of  Guy  Fawkes  and  the  failure  of  the 
Gunpowder  Plot;  this,  too,  is  strangely  kept  alive  to-day  in 
New  York  by  the  bonfires  which  illumine  the  city  streets  on 
Election  night,  which  usually  comes  within  a  day  or  so  of 
November  fifth,  or  Guy  Fawkes  Day. 

New  Year's  Day  was  the  greatest  holiday  of  all  with  the 
Dutch,  when  the  burgher  or  the  boer  put  aside  his  work,  decked 
himself  in  his  best  clothes,  and  went  around  to  the  houses  of 
his  friends  to  wish  them  happiness  during  the  coming  year,  to 
the  accompaniment  of  numerous  pipes  and  glasses  of  schnapps. 
The  good  old  Dutch  custom  prevailed  with  us  until  the 
drunkenness  and  debauchery  which  the  abuse  of  the  custom 
produced,  led  to  its  stoppage  a  few  years  back.    Pfingster,  or 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  109 

Whitsuntide,  was  also  a  period  of  jollification  with  the  Dutch 
who,  at  this  time,  let  their  slaves  have  free  play. 1  Practical 
jokes  were  always  in  order,  and  their  success  was  the  occasion 
of  ready  and  boisterous  laughter  from  the  bystanders.  In  all, 
their  amusements  were  the  rude  and  simple  pleasures  of  a 
primitive  people. 

With  the  better  classes,  the  same  holidays  were  observed 
in  a  quieter  manner  and  without  horse-play.  Tea  parties 
and  dinners  were  the  more  dignified  means  of  entertainment. 
At  the  latter,  wine  of  a  quality  not  always  to  be  found  in  Eu- 
rope was  served  to  the  guests;  and  it  was  customary  for  each 
of  the  guests  in  turn  to  toast  some  admired  friend.  The  ladies 
toasted  a  gentleman,  and  the  gentlemen  toasted  a  lady.  In 
this  way,  the  health  of  some  beautiful  and  gracious  belle  was 
drunk  so  often,  and  her  popularity  became  so  pronounced 
among  her  admirers,  that  she  would  become  the  "toast"  of  the 
season.  An  unbounded  hospitality  prevailed,  and  any  one 
who  ranked  as  a  gentleman  had  little  hesitancy  in  calling  upon 
an  acquaintance,  or  even  upon  a  stranger,  when  travelling, 
for  a  meal  or  lodging.  Intermarriages  occurred  between  the 
families  of  the  gentry,  so  that  in  time  they  were  nearly  all 
interrelated  or  connected.  Many  of  the  American  heiresses, 
both  of  Dutch  and  English  extraction,  became  the  wives  of 
English  officers  stationed  in  New  York,  a  custom  which  the 
present  generation  still  maintains  with  our  trans-Atlantic 
cousins.  Frequently,  the  foreigner,  delighted  with  the  man- 
ner of  American  life,  took  up  his  home  here  and  became  a  citi- 
zen of  the  colony,  and  later  of  the  State.  Many  of  them,  of 
whom  Montgomery,  Paul  Jones,  Gates,  and  Charles  Lee  were 
notable  examples,  fought  with  the  colonists  in  their  revolt 
against  the  mother  country. 

1  See  Cooper's  novel  of  Satanstoe. 


no  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


In  this  new  country,  women  were  in  the  minority,  and  con- 
sequently were  in  great  demand.  She  must  indeed  be  with- 
out personal  or  mental  qualities  who  reached  the  age  of  twenty 
without  being  married,  unless  she  were  vowed  to  spinsterhood. 
It  is  amusing  to  read  of  the  quickness  with  which  widows 
remarried;  there  seems  to  have  been  no  allotted  period  of 
mourning  for  them — a  few  weeks  or  months  sufficed;  and 
many  of  them  changed  their  names  three  or  four  times  as  their 
helpmates  departed  to  the  other  and  better  world.  Sarah 
Willett,  daughter  of  Thomas  Cornell,  must  have  been  an 
attractive  widow;  for  she  was  so  pestered  and  annoyed  by 
suitors,  both  Dutch  and  English,  that  she  was  obliged  to  appeal 
to  the  court  for  protection  from  their  ardent  advances.  She 
finally  married  Thomas  Bridges,  an  Englishman,  and  thus 
disposed  of  her  other  admirers. 

Weddings  were  occasions  of  great  jollification  with  both 
Dutch  and  English,  and  the  festivities  were  generally  kept  up 
for  several  days;  while  rough  jokes  and  rude  jests  were  in- 
dulged in  to  an  extent  that  would  shock  our  modern  ideas  of 
propriety.  Woe  betide  the  unfortunate  bridegroom  who  was 
niggardly  in  inviting  his  friends  to  his  wedding  or  who  failed 
to  provide  generously  for  them  in  food  and  drink,  the  latter 
in  especial!  When  it  came  to  house-raising,  corn-husking, 
quilting,  and  similar  affairs  where  numbers  were  required,  a 
whole  neighborhood  would  join  in  and  help,  and  the  affair 
would  become  a  frolic,  the  host  being  careful  to  provide  ample 
quantities  of  cider,  beer,  and  rum. 

Funerals  were  not  the  solemn  occasions  that  they  are  with 
us  to-day,  but  in  colonial  days  actually  became  festive  affairs. 
The  friends  and  acquaintances  gathered  at  the  home  of  the 
deceased,  and  were  received  with  all  honor — and  a  bowl  of 
punch.    The  services  for  the  dead  having  been  solemnized 


Manners  and  Customs  in  Colonial  Days  in 


by  the  dominie,  the  body  was  carried  to  the  grave — usually 
only  a  few  rods  away — and  interred.  No  female  ever  went  to 
the  grave.  A  volley  was  customarily  fired  over  the  grave, 
even  if  the  body  were  that  of  a  woman.  After  these  solemn 
services  were  performed,  the  mourners  returned  to  the  house, 
where  they  were  refreshed  after  their  fatigue  with  a  lavish 
collation  and  unlimited  quantities  of  drinkables.  While  im- 
bibing these  latter  and  burning  the  incense  of  tobacco  to  the 
memory  of  the  departed,  they  recounted  his  life  and  recalled 
his  manifold  virtues,  until  they  became  so  overcome  by  them — 
or  by  the  drink — that  they  became  speechless.  It  was  a  mat- 
ter of  honor  with  the  bereaved  family  to  see  that  there  was  no 
cessation  in  the  supply  of  solid  and  liquid  refreshments ;  and  so 
these  funeral  ceremonies  sometimes  lasted  for  several  days. 
The  author  cannot  refrain  from  repeating  the  story  of  a  Scotch 
mourner,  who  after  two  days  of  mourning,  solemnly  arose, 
glass  in  hand,  and  proposed  the  health  of  the  bride  and  groom. 
Upon  being  admonished  by  a  neighbor  that  the  affair  was 
not  a  wedding  but  a  funeral,  he  remarked:  "Weel!  I  dinna 
care  what  't  is;  't  is  a  grand  success  anyhow.'* 

Funerals  conducted  in  this  style  were  often  so  expensive  as 
to  impoverish  a  family  that  would  otherwise  have  been  com- 
fortably off.  Besides  the  refreshments,  mourning  gloves  and 
bands  were  furnished  the  minister  and  the  mourners,  while 
mourning  rings  and  pins  were  provided  for  the  relatives  and 
close  friends.  It  is  stated  that  ministers  who  conducted  many 
funerals  had  a  considerable  source  of  income  from  the  sale  of 
the  mourning  gloves  with  which  they  were  presented  at  each 
ceremony.  If  only  a  short  distance  from  the  grave,  the  body 
was  carried  on  a  bier  by  underbearers.  The  author  remembers 
seeing,  when  a  boy,  between  the  years  1865  and  1870,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Schermerhorn  family  buried  from  the  old  mansion 


ii2  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


in  Fourteenth  Street  near  Sixth  Avenue  (afterwards  occupied 
by  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art) ,  and  that  the  coffin  was 
carried  by  underbearers. 

In  1760,  the  funeral  expenses  of  Mrs.  Alexander,  mother  of 
General  Lord  Stirling  of  the  American  army,  amounted  to 
£21,  8s.  and  6d.  for  the  undertaker  alone;  to  this  must  be 
added  the  cost  of  food,  drink,  bands,  gloves,  rings,  and  pins 
mentioned  above.  The  scarcity  of  money  at  the  time  of  the 
Revolution  had  more  effect  in  causing  economy  in  the  matter 
of  funerals  than  had  the  legislation  passed  by  the  Provincial 
Assembly  in  attempts  to  stop  the  wasteful  extravagance. 
The  funerals  of  the  poorer  members  of  the  community  were  as 
extravagant  as  those  of  their  betters,  if  not  more  so,  in  propor- 
tion.1 Perhaps  these  funeral  ceremonies  were  an  inheritance 
from  the  old  Saxon  days,  as  the  reader  will  remember  the  obse- 
quies of  Athelstane  in  Scott's  romance  of  Ivanhoe,  and  the 
interrupted  festivities  upon  that  occasion. 

1  See  Customs  in  Old  New  England,  by  Alice  Morse  Earle. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  REVOLUTION  TO  SEPTEMBER,  1 776 

FROM  what  has  already  been  written,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  population  of  the  Borough  was  a  farming 
one,  being  either  gentlemen  farmers,  occupiers  of 
leaseholds  as  tenants  of  the  wealthy  landowners,  or  as  owners 
of  small  farms  of  their  own.  The  franchise  was  limited  to 
those  who  possessed  unencumbered  property  to  the  value  of 
forty  pounds,  a  considerable  sum  in  those  days;  and  these 
were  the  freeholders  of  the  county.  It  was  not  until  the 
adoption  of  the  second  Constitution  of  the  State  in  1 821  that 
the  suffrage  was  made  universal.  Farmers,  as  a  class,  are 
conservative;  and  when  to  this  conservatism  is  added  the  fact 
that  many  of  them  in  colonial  days  did  not  have  the  right 
to  vote,  we  may  surmise  that  so  long  as  they  found  a  ready 
market  for  their  produce  they  did  not  bother  their  heads 
very  much  about  political  matters,  but  left  such  affairs  to 
their  betters.  The  differences  between  the  Morris  and  De 
Lancey  families  might,  and  did,  arouse  a  feeling  of  parti- 
sanship; but,  in  general,  they  were  satisfied  to  return  to 
the  Provincial  Assembly  some  prominent  gentleman  of  the 
neighborhood  for  whom  they  felt  it  an  honor  to  vote,  or  of 
whom  they  might  be  tenants.  This  feeling  of  political  neu- 
trality, or  apathy,  was  particularly  marked  in  the  aristocratic 
Province  of  New  York,  which  not  only  furnished  its  quota  of 
8  113 


ii4  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


troops  to  the  Continental  army,  but  also  furnished  more 
loyalists,  or  Tories,  both  active  and  passive,  than  any  other 
province  or  state. 

The  general  mass  of  the  population,  though  steady,  intelli- 
gent, industrious,  and  not  illiterate,  did  not  concern  themselves 
greatly  with  the  political  affairs  of  the  decade  between  1764 
and  1774,  in  which  New  England  took  so  prominent  a  part. 
They  looked  upon  their  eastern  neighbors  as  wild  stirrers-up 
of  strife,  whose  ability  and  progressiveness  they  were  ready 
and  willing  to  acknowledge,  but  for  whom  they  felt  and 
expressed  a  certain  sneering  and  lofty  contempt,  and  often  dis- 
like.1  The  fact  that  a  man  was  a  Yankee  was  sufficient  to 
excuse  his  vagaries  of  dress,  action,  or  speech.  We  do  not 
find,  therefore,  that  any  Committee  of  Correspondence  or 
society  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty  existed  within  the  county.  This 
feeling  of  apathy  was  more  pronounced  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  county,  that  is,  within  the  Borough,  than  in  the 
more  northerly  sections,  as  White  Plains,  Bedford,  Rye,  and 
Mamaroneck,  whose  original  settlers  were  nearly  all  from 
Connecticut. 

The  most  thickly  settled  portion  of  the  Borough  was  the 
section  lying  contiguous  to  the  Sound:  Westchester,  West 
Farms,  Throgg's  Neck,  and  Eastchester.  Here  the  prepon- 
derating influence  was  that  of  the  De  Lancey  family;  and  as 
they  were,  almost  to  a  man,  loyalists,  this  portion  of  the 

1  "  It  is  my  will  and  desire  that  my  son  Gouverneur  Morris  may  have  the 
best  education  that  is  to  be  had  in  England  or  America.  But  my  express 
will  and  directions  are,  that  he  be  never  sent  for  that  purpose  to  the  Colony 
of  Connecticut,  lest  he  should  imbibe  in  his  youth  that  low  craft  and 
cunning,  so  incident  to  the  people  of  that  Country,  which  is  so  inter- 
woven with  their  constitution  that  all  their  art  cannot  disguise  it  from  the 
world,  though  many  of  them,  under  the  sanctified  garb  of  religion,  have 
endeavored  to  impose  themselves  upon  the  world  as  honest  men." — From 
the  will  of  Lewis  Morris,  Junior,  of  Morrisania,  November  19,  1760. 


April,  1775  to  September,  1776  115 


Borough  became  a  hotbed  of  Toryism.  Another  element 
which  added  to  the  loyalty  of  the  inhabitants  to  the  crown  was 
the  influence  of  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England ;  and  from 
the  pulpits  of  St.  Peter's  at  Westchester,  St.  Paul's  atEast- 
chester,  and  St.  John's  at  Yonkers,  the  doctrine  of  passive 
obedience  was  preached  by  Rectors  Seabury  and  Babcock 
with  no  less  fervor  than  in  the  days  of  Laud  and  the  Star 
Chamber. 

On  August  20,  1774,  a  meeting  was  called  at  the  borough - 
town  of  Westchester  for  the  purpose  of  electing  delegates  to 
a  county  convention  to  be  held  at  White  Plains  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  the  same  month,  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  rep- 
resentative to  the  general  Congress  to  meet  in  Philadelphia  on 
September  first.  Henry  B.  Dawson  says1  that  this  meeting 
was  controlled  by  a  single  master-spirit,  Colonel  Lewis  Morris, 
who,  instead  of  convening  the  meeting  for  an  honest  expression 
of  opinion  from  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants,  many  of  whom 
were  his  own  tenants,  or  for  the  honest  promotion  of  the  best 
interests  of  the  colony,  used  it  "  as  a  preparation  for  the  return 
of  the  Morris  family  to  place,  authority,  and  influence  in  the 
political  affairs  of  the  Colony,  from  which,  through  the  con- 
trolling influence  of  the  De  Lanceys,  it  had  been,  for  many 
years,  entirely  excluded."  The  meeting  adopted  a  set  of 
resolutions  which,  after  proclaiming  allegiance  to  the  King, 
proceeded  to  criticise  the  unconstitutional  acts  of  his  Majesty's 
government  in  taxing  the  colonies  without  their  consent,  to 
sympathize  with  the  distressed  people  of  Boston  on  account 
of  the  closure  of  their  port,  to  call  upon  the  colonies  to  stand 
together  for  unanimous  action,  and  to  advise  the  action  of  a 
general  congress  to  take  steps  for  a  redress  of  their  grievances. 

1  "The  American  Revolution,"  in  Scharf's  History  of  Westchester  County, 
vol.  i. 


n6  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


The  delegates  chosen  for  the  convention  at  White  Plains 
were  James  Ferris,  Colonel  Lewis  Morris,  and  Thomas 
Hunt. 

The  convention  met  at  White  Plains  under  the  chairman- 
ship of  Colonel  Frederick  Philipse,  a  member  of  the  Provincial 
Assembly,  and  selected  as  representatives  of  the  county  of 
Westchester,  Isaac  Low,  Philip  Livingston,  James  Duane, 
John  Alsop,  and  John  Jay,  all  of  whom  had  already  been 
chosen  by  the  city  and  county  of  New  York  to  represent  it 
in  the  Continental  Congress.  So  that  officially,  at  least, 
Westchester  County  was  marching  side  by  side  with  the 
other  sections  of  the  country  in  their  condemnation  of  the 
unconstitutional  acts  of  the  Parliament  and  in  a  desire  for  a 
redress  of  grievances.  But  the  great  majority  of  the  inhabi- 
tants was  either  indifferent,  or  openly  hostile,  to  the  patriotic 
action  of  the  leaders.  The  loyalist  papers  teemed  with  pro- 
tests from  inhabitants  of  the  county,  and  broadsides  of  like 
tenor  were  issued. 

On  April  13,  1775,  a  very  respectable  number  of  freeholders 
and  inhabitants  of  the  county  again  assembled  at  White 
Plains,  "for  the  purpose  of  choosing  delegates  to  represent 
this  colony  in  the  next  Continental  Congress."  The  delegates 
were  duly  chosen  by  a  minority  of  the  convention,  the  ma- 
jority refusing  to  take  part  in  the  proceedings,  and  drawing  up 
a  protest,  of  which  the  following  is  an  extract,  which  was 
signed  by  over  three  hundred  persons,  among  whom  we  find 
many  inhabitants  of  the  Borough: 

.  "We,  the  subscribers,  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the 
county  of  Westchester,  having  assembled  at  the  White  Plains, 
in  consequence  of  certain  advertisements,  do  now  declare, 
that  we  met  here  to  express  our  honest  abhorrence  of  all  unlaw- 
ful congresses  and  committees  and  that  we  arc  determined,  at 


April,  1775,  to  September,  1776  117 


the  hazard  of  our  lives  and  properties,  to  support  the  King 
and  Constitution,  and  that  we  acknowledge  no  represen- 
tatives but  the  General  Assembly,  to  whose  wisdom  and 
integrity  we  submit  the  guardianship  of  our  rights  and 
privileges." 

The  protest  was  published  in  Rivington's  Gazetteer,  the  lead- 
ing loyalist  organ,  which  commented  as  follows: 

"The  Committee  that  was  chosen,  may,  with  some  kind  of 
propriety,  be  said  to  represent  those  particular  persons  who 
chose  them.  But  how  can  they  be  denominated  representa- 
tives of  the  County  of  Westchester,  who,  in  general,  abhor 
Committees  and  Committeemen,  and  are  determined  to  take 
no  steps  that  may  have  the  least  tendency  to  lead  them  into 
Rebellion,  we  cannot  conceive.  .  .  .  And  we  doubt  not  but 
the  impartial  public  will  consider  the  matter  in  this  light,  and 
not  esteem  the  act  of  a  few  individuals,  unlawfully  assembled, 
as  the  act  (which  it  most  assuredly  is  not)  of  the  very  respec- 
table, populous,  and  loyal  county  of  Westchester." 

The  author  of  the  protest,  and  the  one  who  communicated 
it  and  the  report  of  the  proceedings  to  the  Gazetteer  was  Isaac 
Wilkins,  brother-in-law  of  Colonel  Lewis  Morris,  who  was  also 
reputed  to  be  the  author  of  loyalist  articles  signed  A.  W.  F. 
(A  Westchester  Farmer).  The  news  of  Concord  and  Lexing- 
ton came  a  few  days  after  the  publication  of  the  protest; 
and  Mr.  Wilkins,  in  view  of  the  excitement  of  the  populace 
over  the  news  and  their  indignation  at  his  blatant  Toryism, 
believed  that  his  life  was  in  danger,  and  so  fled  the  country 
to  England;  he  was  probably  the  first  of  the  expatriated 
Tories,  who,  before  the  war  was  over,  numbered  tens  of 
thousands. 

The  news  from  Lexington  greatly  strengthened  the  patriot 
party.    On  the  eighth  of  May,  a  Committee  for  Westchester 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


County  was  formed,  with  Gilbert  Drake  as  chairman.  On  the 
twenty-third  of  the  same  month,  a  Provincial  Congress  was 
organized  in  New  York  City  by  delegates  from  all  the  counties 
in  the  colony,  and  Philip  Van  Brugh  Livingston  was  elected 
its  president. 

The  importance  of  fortifying  the  pass  at  Kingsbridge  was 
recognized  at  an  early  period ;  and  immediately  after  the  arrival 
of  the  news  of  the  Concord  fight,  without  any  formal  order 
from  the  Committee  of  One  Hundred,  numbers  of  men  were 
employed  in  transporting  cannon  from  the  city  to  that  point. 
Though  the  Provincial  Congress  appointed  a  committee  to 
report  upon  a  plan  of  entrenchments,  nothing  further  was  done. 
On  May  twenty-fifth,  however,  the  Continental  Congress 
resolved  : 

"First,  that  a  Post  be  immediately  taken  and  fortified  at  or 
near  King's  Bridge,  in  the  Colony  of  New  York,  and  that  the 
ground  be  chosen  with  a  particular  view  to  prevent  com- 
munication between  the  City  of  New  York  and  the  country 
from  being  interrupted  by  land;  Secondly,  that  the  Militia 
of  New  York  be  armed  and  trained,  and  in  constant  readiness 
to  act  at  a  moment's  warning;  and  that  a  number  of  men  be 
immediately  embodied  ...  to  prevent  any  attempts  that 
may  be  made  to  gain  possession  of  the  City,  and  to  interrupt 
its  intercourse  with  the  country." 

These  resolutions,  with  instructions  to  keep  them  as  secret  as 
possible,  reached  the  Provincial  Congress  at  New  York  on  the 
twenty-ninth  of  May;  and  a  committee  was  accordingly 
appointed,  consisting  of  Captain  Richard  Montgomery  of 
Kingsbridge,  Henry  Glenn,  Robert  Yates,  and  Colonels  James 
Van  Cortlandt  and  James  Holmes,  the  last  two  of  Westchester 
County,  both  of  whom  later  became  loyalists.  This  committee 
was  instructed  "to  view  the  ground  at  or  near  King's  Bridge, 


April,  1775,  to  September,  1776  119 


and  report  to  this  Congress  whether  the  ground  near  King's 
Bridge  will  admit  of  making  a  fortification  there  that  will  be 
tenable." 

In  June,  the  Continental  Congress  took  steps  to  form  a 
Continental  army,  and  appointed  George  Washington  com- 
mander-in-chief. New  York  was  to  furnish  three  thousand 
troops,  to  be  divided  into  four  regiments,  which  later  became 
the  New  York  Line,  commanded  by  McDougal,  Ritzema,1 
James  Clinton,  and  Wynkoop.  Some  of  the  Westchester 
County  men  enrolled  in  the  Fourth  Regiment  of  militia,  com- 
manded at  first  by  Colonel  James  Holmes  of  Bedford, 
who  later  turned  loyalist  and  became  lieutenant-colonel  of  a 
battalion  of  Westchester  County  refugees  in  the  British  army. 

On  August  twenty-second,  a  militia  bill  was  passed  in  accord- 
ance with  the  recommendations  of  the  Continental  Congress; 
and  the  county  was  divided  into  precincts,  or  beats,  each  fur- 
nishing a  company,  which  companies  were  formed  into  three 
battalions;  each  company  was  to  elect  its  own  officers.  The 
first  company  to  perfect  its  organization  was  that  from  the 
borough-town  of  Westchester,  August  twenty-fourth.  Later, 
West  Farms  and  Fordham  withdrew  from  the  Westchester 
beat  and  formed  their  own  company.  Eastchester  formed 
another  beat  and  raised  its  own  company;  New  Rochelle 
and  Pelham  Manor  formed  another  beat;  and  the  manor  of 
Philipseburgh  was  divided  into  six  beats,  of  which  the 
Yonkers  beat  was  within  the  Borough.  These  companies 
above  mentioned  formed  the  South  Battalion  of  Westchester 
County.  Its  officers  were  Joseph  Drake,  colonel;  James 
Hammond,  lieutenant-colonel;  Moses  Drake,  first  major; 

1  Ritzema  commanded  the  Third  Regiment  of  the  New  York  Line  at 
the  Battle  of  Chatterton's  Hill,  or  White  Plains,  and  did  his  duty;  but  a 
short  time  after  the  battle  he  left  the  patriots  and  joined  the  royalist  army. 


120 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Jonathan  G.  Graham,  second  major;  Abraham  Emmons,  ad- 
jutant; and  Theophilus  Bartow,  quarter-master.  Among  the 
company  officers  will  be  found  some  of  the  best-known 
names  of  the  ancient  Borough. 

Every  man  between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  fifty  was  obliged 
to  provide  himself  with  a  good  musket  and  bayonet,  a  sword 
or  tomahawk,  a  cartridge  box  and  belts,  twenty-three  rounds 
of  cartridges,  twelve  flints  and  a  knapsack,  and  to  keep  himself 
provided  with  a  pound  of  gunpowder  and  three  pounds  of 
bullets  in  reserve;  he  was  also  required  to  parade  for  drill  on 
the  first  Monday  of  each  month.  All  these  things  he  must  do 
at  his  own  expense,  under  penalty  of  fine  and  imprisonment. 
This,  of  course,  bore  very  heavily  upon  the  poorer  classes, 
who  had  much  difficulty  in  feeding  and  clothing  their  families. 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  when  De  Lancey  and  others 
came  recruiting  and  offering  bounties,  clothes,  accoutrements, 
and  good  pay  in  current  money,  and  not  in  depreciated  Con- 
tinental bills,  that  these  men,  with  the  fear  of  fine  and  im- 
prisonment before  their  eyes  for  recalcitrancy  in  obeying  the 
orders  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  readily  and  willingly  joined 
the  standards  of  the  loyalist  battalions. 

One  of  these  corps  was  that  of  the  Queen's  Rangers,  organ- 
ized by  Colonel  Robert  Rogers  of  New  Hampshire  in  1776 
from  the  loyalists  of  Connecticut  and  Westchester  County 
to  the  number  of  four  hundred.  They  afterwards  became 
reduced  in  numbers;  and  in  the  autumn  of  1777,  after  the 
Battle  of  the  Brandywine,  Major  Simcoe  of  the  British  army, 
at  his  own  urgent  request,  was  appointed  to  command  them 
with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel.  He  soon  made  them 
models  of  order,  discipline,  and  valor.  The  following  adver- 
tisement from  Rivingtons  Royal  Gazetteer  will  give  some  idea 
of  the  inducements  offered  to  the  loyalists: 


April,  1775,  to  September,  1776  121 


"all  aspiring  heroes 
have  now  an  opportunity  of  distinguishing  themselves  by 

joining 

THE  QUEEN'S  RANGERS  HUSSARS 

commanded  by 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Simcoe. 

"Any  spirited  young  man  will  receive  every  encouragement, 
be  immediately  mounted  on  an  elegant  horse,  and  furnished 
with  clothing,  and  accoutrements,  &c,  to  the  amount  of 
forty  guineas,  by  applying  to  Cornet  Spencer,  at  his 
Quarters,  No.  133  Water  Street,  or  his  rendezvous,  Hewetc's 
Tavern,  near  the  Coffee-house  and  the  Defeat  of  Brandywine 
on  Golden  Hill. 

"Whoever  brings  a  recruit  shall  instantly  receive  two 
guineas. 

"vivant  rex  et  regina." 

Two  other  acts  of  the  Provincial  authorities  also  bore  very 
heavily  upon  the  inhabitants  and  tended  to  increase  their  dis- 
content. One  was  an  order  from  the  Provincial  Congress  to  all 
civil  and  military  officers  to  arrest  and  confine  all  persons  who 
did  not  sign  the  association  of  the  colonies,  or  who  denied 
the  rights  and  orders  of  the  Provincial  or  Continental  con- 
gresses, or  who  expressed  sympathy  with  the  royal  cause,  or 
who  furnished  supplies  of  any  kind  to  the  fleet  or  army  of 
the  King.  The  other  act  by  the  Committee  of  Safety  author- 
ized the  seizure  of  guns,  powder,  bullets,  and  other  munitions 
of  war  from  any  one  who  had  not  signed  the  association, 
for  the  use  of  the  poorly-equipped  and  ill-supplied  troops  which 
the  Colony  was  putting  in  the  field  for  the  expedition  against 
Canada.  The  first  act  prevented  freedom  of  speech,  and 
deprived  the  inhabitants  of  their  ordinary  markets,  while 
placing  them  at  the  mercy  of  every  enemy  they  may  have 


122 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


made  and  who  was  willing  to  give  information  or  to  throw  sus- 
picion upon  them ;  the  second  deprived  them  of  their  personal 
property  without  compensation  or  due  process  of  law. 

As  an  instance  to  show  the  diversity  of  opinion  which  ani- 
mated the  Provincial  Congress  itself,  and  their  attempt  to 
show  allegiance  to  both  King  and  Continental  Congress,  we 
may  mention  the  rather  ludicrous  dilemma  in  which  they  found 
themselves  at  the  end  of  June,  1775.  Governor  Tryon  had 
returned  from  England  and  had  notified  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress that  he  would  land  and  consult  with  them  on  the  state 
of  the  Colony,  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  June.  Notice  was  also 
received  that  General  Washington  would  arrive  in  New  York 
the  same  day  as  the  Governor,  on  his  way  to  take  command  of 
the  American  army  around  Boston.  The  Congress  wished  to 
do  equal  honor  to  both,  but  were  divided  in  opinion  as  to  who 
should  be  first  received  by  the  troops.  It  was  at  last  decided 
to  divide  the  troops  for  the  reception  of  the  distinguished 
visitors;  but  Washington  fortunately  arrived  several  hours 
before  the  royal  Governor  and  thus  relieved  them  of  their 
embarrassment. 

Enough  has  been  stated  to  explain  the  loyalty  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Borough  in  Revolutionary  times.  From  the 
autumn  of  1776  to  that  of  1783,  Westchester  County  was  har- 
ried more  than  any  other  section  of  the  country;  and  the 
losses  and  sufferings  of  the  inhabitants  more  than  repaid  them 
for  their  lack  of  patriotism  for  their  distressed  and  struggling 
country.  While  no  great  battle  took  place  within  the  Bor- 
ough, the  operations  were  constant,  and  hardly  a  week  passed 
without  some  military  foray  or  encounter. 

One  of  the  earliest  military  acts  was  an  expedition  from 
Connecticut  under  Captain  Isaac  Sears  ("King"  Sears),  in 
November,  1775,  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  Westchester 


April,  1775,  to  September,  1776  123 


County,  disarming  the  loyalists,  and  seizing  the  persons  of 
several  of  the  most  prominent  Tories.  The  expedition  started 
with  sixteen  men,  but  gradually  increased  to  over  eighty. 
On  the  twenty-second  of  November,  an  advanced  guard 
entered  the  borough-town  of  Westchester  and  seized  Mayor 
Underhill  and  Rector  Samuel  Seabury.  The  rector  had  ren- 
dered himself  obnoxious  to  the  patriots  by  his  written  articles 
against  the  colonists,  by  his  fulminations  from  the  pulpit,  and 
by  his  having  signed  the  White  Plains  Protest.  Captain 
Lathrop,  with  his  two  prisoners,  then  started  over  the  road 
to  Kingsbridge,  but  met  the  main  body  under  Sears  coming 
over  the  Boston  Road.  They  all  returned  to  Eastchester, 
where  the  main  body  of  the  raiders  had  already  seized  Jona- 
than Fowler,  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 
The  three  prisoners  were  sent  under  escort  to  Horseneck 
(Greenwich)  in  Connecticut,  while  the  main  body  of  about 
seventy-five  horsemen  resumed  their  march  over  the  Boston 
Road  into  the  city  of  New  York,  where,  at  noon  on  the  twenty- 
third,  they  destroyed  the  printing  establishment  of  James 
Rivington,  the  royalist  printer  and  publisher  of  the  obnoxious 
Gazetteer.  The  expedition  then  returned  to  Connecticut,  carry- 
ing with  them  most  of  the  printing  type,  which  was  afterwards 
melted  up  into  bullets.  The  prisoners  were  not  released  until 
the  following  January ;  and  when  the  reverend  doctor  returned 
to  Westchester  he  found  his  school  dispersed  and  his  affairs 
in  confusion.  Like  his  friend  Wilkins,  he  left  the  town,  going 
first  to  Long  Island,  and  later  to  New  York  City,  where  he 
remained  as  chaplain  in  the  British  army  until  the  end  of  the 
war. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  cannon  taken  to 
Kingsbridge  upon  the  news  of  Lexington.  These  cannon, 
numbering  probably  two  hundred  and  fifty  all  told,  were  of  all 


124 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


sizes,  shapes,  qualities,  and  materials ;  brass,  bronze,  and  iron ; 
good,  bad,  and  indifferent.  They  were  stored  at  several 
places,  fifty  or  more  at  John  Williams's  (Williamsbridge), 
probably  one  hundred  at  Valentine's  Hill,  others  at  the  north- 
ern end  of  Manhattan.  They  were  not  protected  or  guarded 
in  any  way,  so  that  any  one  who  wished  to  injure  them  could 
do  so  with  impunity.  On  January  17,  1776,  most  of  them 
were  found  spiked,  while  others  v  jre  choked  up  with  stones, 
and  all  of  them  were  in  an  unserviceable  condition.  Suspicion 
fell  upon  the  loyalists  of  Westchester,  Eastchester,  West 
Farms,  and  Yonkers;  but  an  inquiry  placed  the  deed  upon 
John  Fowler  and  William  Lounsberry  of  Mamaroneck,  both 
of  whom  were  imprisoned.  The  purchase  of  a  quantity  of 
rat-tail  files  led  to  their  conviction.  Jacamiah  Allen  was 
employed  to  unspike  the  guns  at  a  cost  of  twenty  shillings  a 
gun.  This  he  succeeded  in  doing,  and  they  were  later  moun- 
ted upon  the  fortifications  built  by  the  Americans. 

The  committee  of  which  Captain  Richard  Montgomery  was 
the  head  reported  June  3,  1775,  as  to  the  fortifications  at 
Kingsbridge.  They  recommended  that  a  post  of  three  hun- 
dred men  be  established  on  Marble  Hill,  near  Hyatt's  Tavern, 
Manhattan,  and  selected  sites  on  Tetard's  Hill  to  the  east,  and 
on  Tippett's  Hill  to  the  west  of  the  bridge  for  the  placing  of 
redoubts  when  the  troops  had  been  properly  organized,  so  that 
the  work  could  be  done  by  them.  Under  the  command  of 
Major-General  Charles  Lee,  who  was  ordered  from  Boston  to 
the  command  of  New  York  and  its  environs,  work  was  begun 
upon  the  suggested  redoubts;  but  it  was  not  until  after  the 
evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  British  on  March  17,  1776,  and 
the  assumption  of  the  command  in  New  York  by  Washington 
in  person,  that  any  great  progress  was  made  upon  the  forti- 
fications.   Early  in  the  month  of  June,  he  visited  the  nei^h- 


April,  1775,  to  September,  1776  125 


borhood  of  Kingsbridge  and  inspected  the  ground.  Realizing 
the  importance  of  the  place,  he  selected  seven  sites  for  redoubts, 
two  of  which — the  Cock  Hill  fort  overlooking  the  mouth  of 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  and  a  fort  on  Marble  Hill,  afterwards 
called  by  the  British,  Fort  Prince  Charles —  were  on  the  island 
of  Manhattan;  the  remaining  five  were  in  the  Borough.  He 
immediately  set  two  Pennsylvania  regiments  to  work  on  the 
forts,  and  also  various  bodies  of  militia  as  they  reported  for 
duty;  for  by  this  time  General  Howe  had  arrived  off  New 
York  and  was  threatening  the  city,  so  that  reinforcements  for 
the  Americans  were  coming  in  from  all  directions.  In  orders 
'of  July  second,  Washington  placed  General  Mifflin  in  direct 
command  of  the  Kingsbridge  neighborhood  with  instructions 
to  complete  the  works  as  rapidly  as  possible,  so  that  work  was 
carried  on  night  and  day. 

Admiral  Lord  Howe  arrived  off  New  York  in  command  of 
the  fleet  on  the  twelfth  of  July  and  anchored  in  the  Lower 
Bay.  The  point  of  debarkation  of  the  British  forces  was,  of 
course,  a  matter  of  conjecture  on  the  part  of  the  Americans; 
but  Mifflin  believed  they  would  land  near  Yonkers  and  throw 
a  line  of  strong  entrenchments  from  the  Hudson  River  to  the 
Harlem,-  thus  shutting  the  Americans  up  in  New  York  and 
preventing  their  escape  by  way  of  Kingsbridge.  Therefore, 
while  the  Howes  were  attempting  to  negotiate  with  Washing- 
ton for  a  cessation  of  hostilities  under  the  instructions  of  King 
George,  which  empowered  them  to  act  as  commissioners  for 
the  purpose,  the  work  of  fortifying  Kingsbridge  went  rapidly 
forward. 

These  posts,  which  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British  in  Octo- 
ber and  were  further  strengthened  by  them,  were  located  as 
follows  : 

Numbers  One,  Two,  and  Three  (we  use  the  British  nomen- 


126 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


clature)  were  situated  on  Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck,  on  what  is 
said  to  have  been  the  site  of  the  Indian  village  of  Nipnichsen. 

Number  One  was  a  square,  stone  redoubt  overlooking  the 
Hudson  River  and  the  mouth  of  the  creek.  It  forms  the  foun- 
dation of  what  is  known  in  the  vicinity  as  the  Strang  house, 
originally  built  by  a  Mr.  Cameron,  and  now  occupied  by 
William  C.  Muschenheim  of  the  Hotel  Astor.  When  the  house 
was  built,  both  Indian  and  Revolutionary  relics  were 
unearthed,  some  of  which  are  still  preserved  in  the  house. 

Number  Two  was  a  small  circular  fort  on  the  crown  of 
Tippett's  Hill,  and  was  called  "Fort  Swartwout"  by  the 
Americans,  in  honor  of  Colonel  Abraham  Swartwout,  whose 
regiment  built  it,  as  well  as  a  small  battery  at  the  mouth  of 
the  creek  near  the  site  of  the  Spuyten  Duyvil  station  of  the 
New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad.  This  battery, 
with  the  Cock  Hill  fort  on  Manhattan,  was  to  prevent  the 
enemy  from  entering  the  creek  in  boats.  Upon  the  British 
map  made  for  General  Howe  by  his  engineer,  Joseph  Claude 
Sauthier,  and  also  upon  the  map  made  for  Washington  by  S. 
Lewis,  Fort  Number  Two  is  called  "Fort  Independence, "  and 
the  elevation,  Tetard's  Hill,  the  land  to  the  northward  toward 
Seton  Hospital  being  called  the  Heights  of  Fordham.  This  is 
an  error  that  still  continues  to  mislead  historians  of  the  Revo- 
lution when  describing  the  events  in  this  vicinity. 

Number  Three  was  a  small  stone  redoubt  on  the  easterly 
side  of  Tippett's  Hill,  which  commanded  the  junction  of  the 
Spuyten  Duyvil  road  and  the  present  Riverdale  Avenue,  as 
well  as  the  extreme  northerly  end  of  Manhattan  Island  oppo- 
site the  fort  on  Marble  Hill,  called  Fort  Prince  Charles. 
Between  One  and  Two  were  two  ravelins,  and  between  Two 
and  Three,  a  curtain  which  joined  the  two  redoubts. 

All  three  of  these  redoubts  were  hastily  constructed  by  the 


Map  Showing  the  British  Fortifications.    Compiled  from  the  Headquarters 
Map  and  Showing  Principal  Streets  of  the  Present. 


April,  1775,  to  September,  1776  127 


Americans  and  abandoned  by  them  when  they  evacuated  this 
section  before  the  Westchester  campaign;  the  British  seized 
and  strengthened  them  before  the  attack  on  Fort  Washington 
in  the  early  part  of  November,  1776.  In  November,  1778, 
they  had  a  garrison  of  one  hundred  and  ten  officers  and  men. 
They  were  finally  abandoned  by  the  British  in  the  fall  of  1779. 

Number  Four  was  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  valley,  between 
the  Boston  and  Albany  roads,  both  of  which  it  commanded. 
It  was  the  largest  of  all  the  fortifications  in  this  neighborhood, 
and  was  a  bastioned  earthwork,  with  ravelins  to  the  east  and 
southeast,  and  was  built  by  the  Pennsylvania  Line,  assisted 
by  the  militia,  under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Rufus  Putnam, 
the  engineer  of  Fort  Washington.  Upon  the  approach  of 
the  Hessians  under  Knyphausen  from  New  Rochelle,  Colonel 
Lasher,  the  American  commander,  destroyed  the  barracks, 
October  twenty-eighth,  and  went  to  reinforce  Colonel  Magaw 
at  Fort  Washington.  He  left  in  such  haste  that  he  was 
obliged  to  leave  the  cannon  and  three  hundred  stand  of  arms 
behind  him.  General  Knyphausen  took  possession  the  next 
day,  and  the  British  held  it  for  three  years.  On  August  16, 
1779,  they  removed  the  guns;  on  the  seventeenth,  they 
demolished  the  magazine,  and  on  the  twelfth  of  September 
they  abandoned  the  fort  altogether.  The  house  formerly 
belonging  to  the  late  William  0.  Giles,  Esq.,  is  built  within  the 
ancient  fort;  and  it  is  stated  that  when  the  cellar  was  dug 
eleven  cannon  and  several  cannon-balls,  calthorns,  and  other 
military  relics  were  found.  Number  Four  was  the  largest 
redoubt  in  this  vicinity  and  was  the  true  Fort  Independence  of 
the  Americans.  The  fort  was  built  upon  the  farm  of  Captain 
(later,  Major-General)  Richard  Montgomery,  who  probably 
selected  the  site  when  examining  this  section  with  the  com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  Provincial  Congress  of  1775. 


128 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


A  new  street,  a  continuation  of  the  ancient  Boston  Post- 
road  of  1673,  passes  down  the  hill  from  Sedgwick  Avenue, 
connecting  the  Boston  with  the  Albany  Post-road,  and  en- 
croaches slightly  upon  the  ramparts  of  the  old  fort.  Another 
street,  a  little  west  of  the  one  just  mentioned,  also  leads  down 
the  hill  past  the  old  Montgomery  house  and  is  called  Fort 
Independence  Street. 

The  British  Headquarters  map  of  1782  (or  1783)  shows  seven 
other  redoubts  lying  south  of  Number  Four  along  the  Ford- 
ham  ridge,  making  eleven  in  all  from  the  Hudson  to  the  shore 
of  the  Harlem  abreast  of  Fort  George  on  Manhattan.  In 
addition,  there  are  shown  entrenchments  across  the  Boston 
Road  to  the  east  of  Number  Four  and  a  small  redoubt,  called 
the  Negro  Fort,  about  half-way  between  Fort  Independence 
and  Williamsbridge.  It  was  so  called  because,  so  it  is  stated, 
it  was  garrisoned  by  negroes  from  Virginia;  it  was  situated  just 
south  of  the  old  Boston  Road — this  part  of  it  now  called  Van 
Cortlandt  Avenue, — about  where  the  new  Concourse  joins 
Mosholu  Parkway.  A  semicircular  redoubt  was  also  erected 
by  the  orders  of  General  Heath  about  one  thousand  feet  west 
of  the  bridge  across  the  Bronx  River,  to  command  the  passage 
of  that  stream  and  the  Boston  Road  to  Williams's  bridge.  It 
was  located  on  the  Bussing  farm,  and  its  site  is  now  within 
the  limits  of  Woodlawn  Cemetery,  close  to  the  point  of  inter- 
section of  the  ancient  Boston  and  Gun  Hill  roads. 

Number  Five  was  a  square  redoubt  of  about  seventy  feet, 
situated  on  the  old  Tetard  farm,  due  south  of  Fort  Indepen- 
dence, and  commanding  the  Farmers'  Bridge.  It  can  still  be 
distinguished  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the  Jerome  Park 
reservoir,  a  few  rods  east  of  Sedgwick  Avenue,  adjoining  the 
Ames  property.  It  was  occupied  by  the  British  in  1777,  and 
abandoned  September  18,  1779.    In  the  summer  of  1910, 


April,  1775,  to  September,  1776  129 


Messrs.  Reginald  P.  Bolton,  Edward  Hagaman  Hall,  and  W.  L. 
Calver  carefully  excavated  the  ground  within  the  old  redoubt 
and  were  rewarded  by  finding  remains  of  brick  fireplaces  and 
other  military  relics,  including  regimental  buttons  of  privates 
of  the  13th  Pennsylvania  Regiment  and  the  following  British 
infantry  regiments:  4th,  10th,  17th,  26th,  28th,  44th,  52d, 
54th,  57th,  64th,  and  71st  Highlanders,  and  also  an  officer's 
button  of  the  17th  British. 

Though  there  were  eleven  of  these  redoubts,  the  British 
numbers  ran  only  to  eight,  as  several  of  them  had  special 
names,  or  were  of  such  small  size  as  not  to  merit  special  men- 
tion as  they  were  attached  to  the  larger  fortifications  near 
them. 

Numbers  Six,  Seven,  and  Eight  were  small  redoubts  com- 
manding the  Harlem  River  from  Fordham  Heights,  and  strung 
along  to  the  southward  as  far  as  the  present  Burnside  Avenue. 
Of  these,  Number  Eight  was  the  most  famous,  as  Colonel  De 
Lancey's  cantonment  was  under  its  guns  for  protection  from 
the  American  attacks;  it  also  protected  the  pontoon  bridge 
which  connected  the  mainland  with  Manhattan  near  Fort 
George,  over  which  the  British  cowboys  drove  their  cattle, 
wood,  forage,  and  other  products  of  their  raids.  The  daring 
American  partisans  were  not  deterred  by  the  proximity  of  the 
fort,  however,  but  made  affairs  in  this  vicinity  hot  on  numer- 
ous occasions,  as  we  shall  see  later. 

Lossing  says:1  "Before  leaving  these  heights  [Fort  Washing- 
ton], consecrated  by  valor  and  patriotism,  let  us  turn  toward 
the  distant  hills  of  West  Chester,  where  almost  every  rood  of 
earth  is  scarred  by  the  intrencher's  mattock,  or  made  memo- 
rable by  deeds  of  daring  and  of  suffering." 

The  reference  here  is  chiefly  to  the  "distant  hills"  of  North 

1  Page  623,  Pictorial  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution. 

9 


130 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Castle,  White  Plains,  and  Peekskill;  but  the  Borough  section 
of  the  county,  so  long  occupied  by  the  British  forces,  must  have 
had  numerous  fortifications,  which  the  local  historian  has 
failed  to  record,  and  which  modern  improvements  have 
obliterated.  Kingsbridge  has  been  more  fortunate  in  both 
respects;  it  is  still  a  rural  community,  and  the  local  historian, 
the  late  Mr.  Thomas  Henry  Edsall,  has  determined  the  sites 
of  the  ancient  redoubts  before  the  knowledge  of  their  position 
has  passed  away  with  the  older  inhabitants.  The  Head- 
quarters map,  published  in  1900,  also  gives  us  these  redoubts 
with  a  fair  amount  of  accuracy. 

As  if  to  confirm  Mifflin's  idea  of  the  landing  place  of  the 
British,  on  the  twelfth  of  July,  the  Rose  and  the  Phoenix, 
British  vessels  of  war,  with  several  tenders,  sailed  up  the 
Hudson  and,  being  unaware  of  the  American  fortifications, 
anchored  off  the  entrance  to  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek.  Their 
ignorance  was  soon  dissipated,  for  the  batteries  opened  fire  on 
them  and  did  great  execution.  The  vessels  then  proceeded 
up  the  Hudson  as  far  as  Fort  Montgomery  in  the  Highlands. 
Their  object  was,  probably,  to  communicate  with  the  loyalists 
along  the  banks  of  the  river  and  to  provide  them  with  arms; 
but  their  presence  called  for  more  troops,  and  reinforcements 
were  hurried  to  the  neighborhood  of  Kingsbridge. 

On  August  thirteenth,  General  Heath,  to  whose  Memoirs 
we  owe  so  much  for  our  knowledge  of  Revolutionary  affairs  in 
Westchester  County,  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
district  of  the  Highlands,  extending  south  to  the  Harlem 
River.  On  the  seventeenth,  the  vessels  were  anchored  off 
Mount  Saint  Vincent  (then  called  the  Yonkers),  and  an 
attempt  was  made  to  destroy  them  with  fire-ships.  One  of 
the  tenders  was  consumed,  and  the  next  morning  the  remain- 
der of  the  vessels  dropped  down  stream,  easily  passing  through 


April,  1775,  to  September,  1776  131 


the  obstructions  in  the  river  between  Forts  Washington  and 
Lee,  much  to  the  chagrin  of  Washington  and  his  engineers. 
Generals  Heath  and  George  Clinton  witnessed  from  Tippett's 
Hill  the  daring  attempt  of  the  fire-ships  to  destroy  the  vessels. 

A  few  days  later,  a  French  engineer,  Monsieur  Martin,  was 
assigned  by  Washington  to  complete  the  works,  and  Clinton's 
brigade  was  ordered  into  camp.  The  regiment  of  Colonel 
Thomas  took  camp  south  of  Fort  Independence,  that  of  Colo- 
nel Graham  about  half  a  mile  south,  and  those  of  Colonels 
Paulding  and  Nicholas,  at  Fordham  and  the  base  of  Tetard's 
Hill,  while  Colonel  Swartwout  occupied  Tippett's  Hill  and 
threw  up  the  redoubts  already  described. 1 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  August,  the  Battle  of  Long  Island 
occurred;  and  the  Provincial  Congress,  then  sitting  at  Harlem, 
became  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  the  city  of  New  York  and 
ordered  its  records  removed  to  the  camp  at  Kingsbridge, 
whence  they  were  later  taken  to  White  Plains  and  elsewhere  as 
the  seat  of  the  provincial  government  shifted  from  place  to 
place  during  the  ensuing  six  years.  Heath  gathered  all  the 
boats  he  could  find  along  the  two  rivers  for  the  transportation 
of  Washington's  army  across  the  East  River  from  its  dangerous 
position  at  Brooklyn. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  twenty-seventh,  while  the  battle 

was  raging  on  Long  Island,  two  ships  and  a  brig  came  to 

anchor  a  little  above  Frog  Point  [Throgg's  Neck].  Colonel 

Graham's  regiment  was  ordered  immediately  to  the  spot  by 

General  Heath,  to  prevent  the  British  from  landing  to  plunder 

and  burn.    Before  the  regiment  arrived,  several  barges  from 

the  ships,  full  of  armed  men,  landed  on  City  Island  and  killed 

1  The  reader  must  not  confuse  the  Fordham  of  to-day,  a  station  on  the 
Harlem  Railroad,  with  the  Fordham  of  colonial  times,  which,  as  has 
already  been  explained  in  Chapter  III.,  was  established  by  John  Archer, 
in  1668,  at  a  site  near  the  "wading  place." 


132 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


a  number  of  cattle.  Two  companies  of  the  Americans  were 
ferried  over  to  the  island  and  compelled  the  enemy  to  withdraw. 
The  British  took  one  prisoner  and  fourteen  head  of  cattle,  but 
the  rest  of  the  cattle  was  secured.  On  the  twenty-ninth,  the 
ships  fell  down  to  Hunt's  Point. 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  REVOLUTION,  FROM  SEPTEMBER,  1 776,  TO  NOVEMBER,  1 776. 

ON  the  thirteenth  of  September,  the  city  of  New  York 
was  evacuated  by  the  Americans,  and  the  march 
was  taken  up  for  Harlem  Heights  and  Kingsbridge. 
The  Howes  thought  this  a  propitious  moment  to  renew  their 
overtures  for  peace,  and  sent  the  captured  General  Sullivan 
on  parole  to  carry  their  message  to  Congress  at  Philadel- 
phia, a  "decoy  duck,"  as  he  was  called  by  John  Adams,  who 
was  one  of  the  commissioners  sent  to  confer  with  the  Howes 
— the  others  were  Benjamin  Franklin  and  John  Rutledge.  As 
*  the  Howes  refused  to  treat  with  the  Americans  other  than 
as  private  citizens,  and  as  the  three  commissioners  stood  out 
for  a  recognition  of  our  independence,  the  negotiations  of 
September  eleventh  fell  through,  as  the  Howes  were  not 
authorized  to  negotiate  on  any  such  basis. 

Five  thousand  troops  were  left  to  garrison  Fort  Washington, 
while  the  remainder,  about  nine  thousand  in  number,  went 
into  quarters  on  the  Borough  side  of  the  Harlem,  extending 
from  Kingsbridge,  through  Fordham,  Morrisania,  West 
Farms,  and  Westchester  to  Throgg's  Neck  and  Eastchester. 
A  floating,  or  pontoon,  bridge  was  thrown  across  Spuyten 
Duyvil  Creek  to  afford  easy  communication  between  the  two 
divisions  of  the  army.  A  similar  bridge  was  constructed  by 
the  British  after  their  occupation  of  the  same  neighborhood; 
/  133 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


it  crossed  the  creek  about  midway  between  the  King's  bridge 
and  the  Hudson,  connecting  Tippett's  Neck  and  Cox's  (or 
Cock's)  Hill.  On  the  Headquarters  map,  already  referred  to, 
it  appears  very  curiously  as  the  "King's  bridge."  The  Ameri- 
cans at  once  erected  barracks,  and  brick  and  stone  ovens  were 
built  by  the  masons  in  the  army. 

The  different  methods  of  working  in  the  two  armies  are 
shown  by  the  fact  that  redoubts,  barracks,  ovens,  etc.  required 
by  the  Americans  were  built  by  the  soldiers  themselves,  with 
slight  additional  expense  to  the  government;  while  during  the 
British  occupation  of  New  York  and  its  environs,  under  the 
several  British  commanders,  750,000  pounds  sterling  were 
spent  for  the  same  purposes.  So  tremendous  was  this  expense 
that  its  honesty  was  questioned  by  the  government  in  England, 
and  it  is  supposed  that  Carleton  had  the  Headquarters  map 
made  in  order  to  show  where  and  how  this  large  sum  had  been 
expended.  The  American  army  was  composed  of  farmers, 
mechanics,  and  artisans  of  all  kinds;  the  British,  of  soldiers, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  fight. 

The  farmers  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  army  at  Kingsbridge 
suffered  from  the  depredations  of  the  troops;  and  fences, 
poultry,  cattle,  and  crops  disappeared  for  the  use  of  the  quarter- 
master's department  and  for  the  commissariat.  In  fact,  the 
thieving  propensities  of  the  patriots  were  a  source  of  continual 
distress  to  the  Commander-in-chief,  whose  orders  against  such 
acts  were  "more  honored  in  the  breach  than  in  the  observ- 
ance."1 In  a  prosperous  farming  section  such  as  this,  there 
should  have  been  plenty  of  horses  and  oxen;  yet,  when  the 

1  In  the  Journal  of  Lieut. -Col.  Kemble,  Sir  William  Howe's  adjutant- 
general  during  the  Westchester  campaign,  we  find  that  the  British  Com- 
mander-in-chief had  even  greater  trouble  in  dealing  with  the  marauders 
of  his  army,  and  especially  with  the  licentious  and  thieving  German 

mercenaries. 


From  September  to  November,  1776  135 


retreat  began  to  the  upper  county,  so  many  draught  animals 
had  been  stolen  by  individuals,  both  officers  and  men,  that 
enough  animals  could  not  be  found  to  drag  the  stores  and  artil- 
lery; and  the  guns  and  wagons  had  to  be  hauled  in  relays  and, 
very  frequently,  by  hand.  The  terms  of  enlistment  of  thou- 
sands of  men  expired  during  the  months  of  September  and 
October,  and  every  one  that  could  do  so  helped  himself  to  a 
horse  or  anything  else  that  took  his  fancy,  and  which  he  could 
take  back  to  New  England  with  him.  It  was  providential 
that  the  Americans  were  opposed  by  a  commander  that  took 
things  in  a  leisurely  and  dilatory  way;  otherwise,  they  would 
have  lost  everything;  as  it  was,  the  army  lost  little  or  nothing. 

For  several  weeks  the  two  opposing  armies  were  apparently 
inactive;  though,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Americans  were 
busily  engaged  in  strengthening  the  defences  of  Fort  Washing- 
ton, the  posts  at  Kingsbridge,  at  White  Plains,  and  the  various 
outposts  already  mentioned;  while  the  British  were  erecting 
a  strong  line  of  defences  to  prevent  attack  from  the  north, 
extending  along  the  heights  commanding  the  Plains  of  Harlem ; 
that  is,  the  present  Morningside  Heights,  the  north  end  of 
Central  Park  and  McGowan's  Pass;  in  addition,  they  occupied 
the  islands  in  the  East  River  and  thus  controlled  the  Sound. 

The  most  strongly  garrisoned  of  these  islands  was  Montres- 
sor's  (now  Randall's),  which  was  separated  from  the  mainland 
by  the  narrow  and  shallow  strait  called  Bronx  Kills.  At  the 
manor-house  of  Morrisania,  opposite  the  island,  was  a  strong 
outpost  of  Americans;  and  the  pickets  frequently  exchanged 
shots,  until  the  two  commanders  of  the  posts  mutually  agreed 
to  refrain  from  firing  on  each  other's  pickets.  This  pleased 
the  men,  who  even  exchanged  articles  by  throwing  them 
across  the  narrow  strip  of  water.  A  raw  picket  on  the  British 
side,  who  did  not  know  of  the  agreement,  began  to  fire  on  the 


136 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


sentinel  opposite,  who  was  taking  no  precautions  to  conceal 
himself;  and,  in  consequence,  a  lively  fusillade  ensued.  The 
officers  soon  stopped  the  firing,  the  American  captain  indig- 
nantly remonstrated,  the  British  captain  apologized,  relieved 
the  offending  sentry  and  punished  him,  and  the  condition  of 
neutrality  was  resumed. 

On  September  twenty-fourth,  an  attempt  was  made  by  the 
Americans,  under  Colonel  Jackson  and  Major  Henly,  to  sur- 
prise the  British  garrison  on  the  island.  The  latter  officer 
was  on  General  Heath's  staff,  and  was  so  importunate  in  his 
requests  to  be  allowed  to  accompany  the  party  that  the  Gen- 
eral rather  unwillingly  consented,  as  the  expedition  gave  every 
promise  of  success  without  serious  danger.  The  American 
sentries  had  been  cautioned  to  pay  no  attention  to  the  passage 
of  the  boats  down  the  stream;  but  one  fool  thought  he  knew 
better  than  his  officers  and  insisted  on  challenging  the  boats, 
and  finally  fired  on  them,  thus,  no  doubt,  awakening  the  vigi- 
lance of  the  British  sentries.  The  boats  came  abreast  of  the 
island  in  silence  and  arranged  themselves  in  the  order  pre- 
viously agreed  upon  for  the  attack.  There  was  a  whispered 
word  of  command,  and  Colonel  Jackson's  boat  led  the  way  in 
the  darkness.  As  it  approached  the  shore  the  pickets  fired 
on  it,  but  it  kept  on  until  its  keel  grated  on  the  shore.  Officers 
and  men  jumped  ashore  and  attempted  to  rush  the  camp ;  but 
the  force  in  their  front  was  too  strong  for  them,  and  they  were 
obliged  to  fall  back,  as  they  were  not  supported.  As  they  did 
so,  Major  Henly  fell  mortally  wounded.  The  well-planned 
attack  had  failed,  and  all  because  of  the  cowardice  of  the 
officers  in  the  other  boats,  not  one  of  whom  followed  the  boat 
of  his  commander  and  supported  it.  They  were  afterwards 
court-martialled  and  cashiered  for  cowardice.  The  loss  of 
the  Americans  was  twenty-two,  including  Major  Henly,  who 


From  September  to  November,  1776  137 


died  a  few  days  later,  much  regretted  by  all  who  knew  him, 
as  he  was  a  young  officer  of  great  ability  and  promise.  The 
young  Virginian  was  buried  in  the  present  Trinity  Cemetery, 
by  the  side  of  the  brave  Colonel  Knowlton,  the  hero  of  the 
Battle  of  Harlem  Heights. 

Washington's  headquarters  during  this  time  were  in  the 
Roger  Morris  house  at  Edgecombe  Avenue  and  160th  Street, 
Manhattan,  the  colonial  mansion  which  later  became  the 
residence  of  the  famous  Madame  Jumel,  later  the  wife  of 
Aaron  Burr.  This  occupies  a  commanding  position  overlook- 
ing the  Harlem  River,  the  view  to  the  southward  extending  to 
the  East  River,  and  to  the  northward  to  Kingsbridge,  so  that 
the  movements  of  the  British  vessels  or  boats  could  be  readily 
seen.  These  were  times  of  great  stress  of  mind  and  body  for 
Washington;  for  he  had  on  his  hands  a  meddling  Congress, 
several  scheming  and  ambitious  officers,  a  cowardly  and  thiev- 
ing militia,  and  a  rapidly  disintegrating  army.  In  fact,  he 
felt  so  despairing  that  he  said  privately:  "Such  is.my  situation, 
that  if  I  were  to  wish  the  bitterest  curse  to  an  enemy  on  this 
side  of  the  grave,  I  should  put  him  in  my  stead  with  my  feel- 
ings." He  was  strongly  imbued  with  the  idea  that  Howe 
intended  to  land  at  Morrisania  and  attack  him  in  his  position 
in  Westchester  County.  No  exertion  was  spared,  therefore, 
to  make  his  position  as  strong  as  possible,  and  he  was  passing 
continually  from  his  headquarters  to  Kingsbridge,  to  Valen- 
tine's Hill,  to  Yonkers,  to  Morrisania,  and  to  Westchester, 
personally  superintending  the  disposition  of  his  troops  and 
acquainting  himself  with  the  topography  of  the  surrounding 
country. 

A  brief  glance  at  the  numbers  and  conditions  of  the  two 
armies  on  the  eve  of  the  Westchester  campaign  may  not  be 
amiss.    The  British,  including  the  Hessians  who  had  already 


138 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


arrived  and  taken  part  in  the  Battle  of  Long  Island,  and  those 
under  Knyphausen  whose  arrival  was  expected  daily,  were  not 
less  than  forty  thousand  men,  and  to  these  must  be  added  the 
marines  of  the  fleet,  several  thousand  more,  who  were  avail- 
able for  land  duty.  The  regiments  were  the  flower  of  the 
British  army.  Supporting  them  were  the  two  fleets  of  Admi- 
ral Lord  Howe  and  Commodore  Hotham.  On  the  face  of  the 
returns  of  September  21,  1776,  the  Americans  had  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  thirty- two  thousand  men ;  but  if  we  exclude  the  sick 
and  furloughed,  and  those  at  Paulus  Hook  (Jersey  City)  and 
other  small  and  distant  posts,  the  number  of  effectives  was  not 
more  than  sixteen  thousand.  By  the  fifth  of  October,  the 
number  had  dwindled  considerably.  Thirteen  regiments  of 
these  troops  were  composed  of  militia,  serving  for  the  time  in 
the  Continental  service,  and  absolutely  unreliable  for  any  pur- 
pose except  building  forts,  plundering,  and  an  almost  positive 
certainty  of  running  at  the  first  fire,  as  Washington  had  learned 
to  his  sorrow  at  Kip's  Bay.  Further,  the  Commander-in-chief 
was  handicapped  by  many  political  military  officers,  not  the 
least  of  whom  was  Major-General  Charles  Lee,  that  conceited 
and  egotistical  braggart,  so  prolific  of  plans,  schemes,  and 
criticisms,  and  so  barren  of  results. 

Dr.  Galloway  of  the  British  army  contrasts  the  two  armies 
as  follows: 

"The  British  army  was  commanded  by  able  and  experi- 
enced Officers;  the  rebel,  by  men  destitute  of  military  skill 
or  experience  and  for  the  most  part  taken  from  the  me- 
chanic arts  or  the  plough.  The  first  were  possessed  of  the 
best  appointments,  and  of  more  than  they  could  use;  and  the 
other,  of  the  worst,  and  of  less  than  they  wanted.  The  one 
were  attended  by  the  ablest  Surgeons  and  Physicians,  healthy 
and  high-spirited;  the  other  were  neglected  in  their  health, 


From  September  to  November,  1776  139 


clothing,  and  pay,  were  sickly,  and  constantly  murmuring 
and  dissatisfied.  And  the  one  were  veteran  troops,  carrying 
victory  and  conquest  wheresoever  they  were  led;  the  other 
were  new-raised  and  undisciplined,  a  panic-struck  and  de- 
feated enemy,  whenever  attacked — such  is  the  true  compara- 
tive difference  between  the  force  sent  to  suppress,  and  that 
which  supported,  the  Rebellion." 

The  period  of  inactivity  was  broken  on  the  twelfth  of 
October.  Leaving  Earl  Percy  in  command  of  the  defences  at 
New  York,  Sir  William  Howe  embarked  the  first  detachment 
of  his  army  of  thirty  thousand  men  on  flat-boats,  and,  sup- 
ported by  several  ships  of  war  to  cover  his  landing,  proceeded 
through  Hell  Gate  and  the  East  River,  and  about  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning  landed  at  Throgg's  Neck.  The  morning  was 
foggy,  so  that  his  movement  could  not  be  seen  from  head- 
quarters, and  Washington  was  unaware  of  it  until  that  after- 
noon, when  he  received  an  express  from  Heath,  whose  outpost 
at  Westchester  town  apprised  him  of  the  accomplishment  of 
the  landing.  During  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  the 
second  detachment  of  Howe's  army,  in  forty-two  vessels, 
supported  by  nine  vessels  of  war,  successfully  followed  their 
comrades  in  arms. 

The  left  flank  of  the  American  army  was  threatened  and 
Washington  was  in  despair.  His  actions  and  orders  of  that 
day  show  that  the  calm  and  equable  temper  of  the  great  man 
gave  way;  and,  believing  that  all  was  lost,  he  surrendered  to 
the  despondency  which  possessed  him.  He  virtually  turned 
everything  over  to  Heath,  an  able  and  active  subordinate, 
authorizing  him  to  make  such  dispositions  of  the  troops  as  he 
thought  proper,  "begging  and  trusting  that  every  opposition 
would  be  given  to  the  enemy,"  and  concluding  with,  "God 
bless  and  lead  you  on  to  victory!"    The  next  day,  Sunday,  he 


140 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


had  recovered  his  usual  composure,  and  again  took  immediate 
and  active  charge  of  the  movements  of  his  troops,  sending  the 
necessary  brigades  and  regiments  to  the  support  of  Heath  at 
Westchester,  inspecting  and  patrolling  his  own  lines  and 
impressing  the  outposts  with  the  necessity  of  being  extra 
vigilant.  At  the  first  intimation  of  Howe's  movement  to 
Throgg's  Neck,  Washington  had  believed  it  to  be  a  feint  and 
that  the  real  movement  was  to  be  by  way  of  Morrisania;  but 
on  the  thirteenth,  he  became  convinced  that  the  movement 
was  a  real  one  with  the  object  of  confining  his  army  to  the 
Harlem  shore  and  cutting  it  off  from  the  upper  county. 

Throgg's  Neck  is  virtually  an  island,  being  cut  off  from  the 
mainland  by  several  tidal  creeks  and  low,  marshy  meadows, 
which  are  awash  at  high  tide.  Its  only  connection  with  the 
mainland  at  that  time  was  the  causeway  and  bridge  over 
Westchester  Creek  at  the  borough- town.  Howe  was  blamed 
for  selecting  Throgg's  Neck  for  his  landing  place  instead  of 
Pell's  Point  (Rodman's  Neck),  a  much  better  place  for  the 
object  he  had  in  view;  but  it  appears  that  he  gave  way  to 
the  representations  of  his  brother,  the  Admiral,  who,  from 
the  charts  and  information  he  had,  stated  that  Eastchester  Bay 
was  too  shallow  for  his  ships  to  cover  the  landing,  while  at 
Throgg's  Neck  there  was  plenty  of  water.  We  must  remem- 
ber that,  as  there  was  no  steam  in  those  days,  the  vessels  were 
dependent  upon  the  winds  and  tides. 

As  early  as  October  third,  Heath  had  inspected  this  neigh- 
borhood and  placed  alarm  posts  at  the  bridge  and  at  the  head 
of  Westchester  Creek,  where  the  stream  was  fordable,  with 
orders  to  give  him  immediate  notice  of  any  movement  of  the 
enemy,  should  they  attempt  to  land  at  Throgg's  Neck;  and 
he  promised,  in  the  event  of  a  British  advance,  to  send  reinforce- 
ments at  once.    The  men  at  the  outposts  consisted  of  Colonel 


From  September  to  November,  1776  141 


Hand's  First  Regiment  of  Continental  Foot,  usually  known 
as  Hand's  Riflemen. 

Upon  the  approach  of  the  advance  guard  of  the  enemy 
toward  the  causeway  on  the  morning  of  the  twelfth,  after 
they  had  accomplished  their  landing,  the  Americans  removed 
the  planks  from  the  bridge  in  accordance  with  instructions  and 
gathered  on  the  west  bank  of  the  creek  under  the  protection  of 
an  ancient  tidal  mill ;  from  which  point  they  poured  in  a  heavy 
rifle  fire  upon  the  advancing  enemy,  who  fell  back.  An 
attempt  to  cross  the  creek  at  the  ford  was  also  repulsed  by  the 
riflemen  there.  The  British  contented  themselves  with  these 
tentative  efforts;  and,  finding  the  Americans  in  sufficient 
force  to  check  their  advance,  threw  up  a  semicircular  intrench- 
ment  to  prevent  the  Americans,  in  their  turn,  from  attempting 
to  advance  across  the  creek.  Heath,  having  received  notifica- 
tion of  the  landing  and  of  the  advance,  dispatched  the  regiment 
of  Colonel  Prescott,  the  hero  of  Bunker  Hill,  the  regiment  of 
Colonel  Graham  of  the  New  York  Line,  and  two  pieces  of 
artillery;  later,  reinforcing  with  McDougal's  brigade  of  New 
York  troops.  The  Americans  intrenched  on  the  west  side  of 
the  creek,  and  a  desultory  and  ineffective  fire  was  exchanged 
between  the  hostile  outposts  during  the  remainder  of  the  day. 

In  the  movements  of  troops  since  October  twelfth,  many  of 
them  had  been  withdrawn  from  Manhattan  Island  to  reinforce 
Heath,  to  watch  the  ships  off  Tarry  town,  to  the  encampment 
on  Valentine's  Hill  in  the  Mile  Square,  and  to  White  Plains 
to  protect  the  stores  being  moved  to  that  place.  A  series  of 
fortified  camps  had  also  been  established  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Bronx  River,  extending  from  the  Mile  Square  to  White 
Plains. 

On  the  fourteenth,  a  council  of  war  was  called  to  meet  at 
or  near  Kingsbridge,  the  place  to  be  designated  by  General 


142 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Heath,  "as  we  are  strangers  to  a  suitable  place."  On  the 
same  day,  General  Charles  Lee  arrived  from  the  south;  and 
being  the  senior  major-general  and  next  in  rank  to  Washington, 
was  entitled  to  the  command  of  all  the  troops  in  the  county ; 
but,  though  placed  in  command,  he  was  requested  not  to  exer- 
cise it  until  he  had  acquainted  himself  with  the  number  and 
disposition  of  the  troops  and  with  the  topography  of  the 
country;  so  that  Heath  remained  the  responsible  commander. 
Considering  the  character  of  Lee,  it  is  remarkable  that  he 
acceded  to  this  request ;  for,  if  we  are  to  judge  him  by  his  own 
estimate  of  himself,  all  this  knowledge  and  information  should 
have  been  his  intuitively  from  his  very  presence  on  the  ground. 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  all  possible  information 
being  in  possession  of  the  officers,  the  council  of  war  reassem- 
bled at  the  quarters  of  General  Lee  at  Kingsbridge.  There 
were  present,  besides  the  Commander-in-chief,  Major-Generals 
Lee,  Putnam,  Heath,  Spencer,  and  Sullivan,  and  Brigadier- 
Generals  Lord  Stirling,  Mifflin,  McDougal,  Parsons,  Nixon, 
Wadsworth,  Scott,  Fellows,  Clinton,  and  Lincoln,  and  Colonel 
Knox,  commanding  the  artillery.  With  only  one  dissentient 
voice,  that  of  General  George  Clinton,  it  was  decided  that  it 
was  not  possible  in  their  present  positions  to  prevent  the 
American  army  from  being  cut  off  from  the  upper  county, 
and  that  a  retirement  was  not  only  expedient  but  necessary  to 
prevent  the  surrender  of  the  army  as  prisoners  of  war.  In 
deference  to  the  ill-advised  wishes  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
it  was  decided  to  maintain  Fort  Washington  as  long  as  possible. 

On  the  fifteenth,  the  movement  of  troops  to  the  relief  of 
Heath  continued;  on  the  sixteenth,  Washington  finished  his 
survey  of  the  threatened  points  by  visiting  Pell's  Point  and 
directing  the  establishment  of  an  outpost  at  the  entrance  to 
the  Neck.    How  important  that  act  was  we  shall  see  later. 


From  September  to  November,  1776  143 


During  the  six  days  after  his  landing  at  Throgg's  Neck, 
Howe  was  establishing  a  base  there  and  receiving  numerous 
reinforcements.  At  last,  word  came  of  the  arrival  of  seventy- 
two  ships  with  the  German  mercenaries  under  Knyphausen. 
On  the  morning  of  the  eighteenth,  Howe  embarked  his  army  in 
over  two  hundred  boats,  protected  by  the  smaller  war  vessels, 
and  passed  from  the  northern  side  of  Throgg's  Neck  across 
Eastchester  Bay,  and  landed  at  the  end  of  Pell's  Point,  oppo- 
site City  Island.  The  post  at  Westchester  saw  the  movements 
in  its  front  and  immediately  notified  Heath,  who  came  up  with 
numerous  reinforcements,  which,  upon  the  receipt  of  an 
express  from  the  alarm  post  at  the  ford  stating  that  the  enemy 
were  attempting  a  crossing  there,  were  diverted  to  its  support. 
No  advance  was  made  by  the  enemy  at  either  point;  and 
Washington,  who  was  personally  on  the  ground,  believed  that 
the  enemy's  movement  was  a  feint  and  that  his  real  point  of 
attack  would  be  at  Morrisania;  he  therefore  ordered  Heath 
and  his  troops  to  that  position  to  watch  the  enemy.  Howe's 
landing  was  successfully  made  at  Pell's  Point;  and  nothing 
prevented  the  capture  or  destruction  of  the  widely  scattered 
American  army  but  the  outpost  at  the  entrance  of  the  neck, 
which  has  been  mentioned  above. 

This  outpost  had  been  strengthened  by  the  brigade  of  Gen- 
eral James  Clinton,  who,  however,  was  not  personally  on  the 
ground.  It  consisted  of  the  regiments  of  Colonels  Glover, 
Shepard,  Read,  and  Baldwin,  in  all  about  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  men  with  three  field-pieces,  all  under  command  of  Colonel 
Glover,  whose  regiment  was  composed  of  Marbleheaders, 
sturdy  fishermen  and  sailors  of  Massachusetts.  Their  amphibi- 
ous qualities  had  been  utilized  by  Washington  in  the  with- 
drawal of  the  army  from  Brooklyn  after  the  defeat  of  Long 
Island,  Glover  being  in  charge  of  the  embarkation  of  the  troops 


i44 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


into  the  boats  manned  by  his  fishermen-soldiers,  whose 
muffled  oars  made  no  sound  to  betray  the  retreat  to  the  enemy 
on  that  foggy  August  morning;  and  later,  when  Trenton  was 
the  object  of  that  sad  but  glorious  Christmas  march,  it  was 
these  same  Marbleheaders  who  took  the  army  across  the 
Delaware  through  the  drifting  masses  of  ice. 

This  brigade  was  encamped  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Boston  Post-road,  somewhere  in  the  town  of  Eastchester. 
The  British  movement  was  concealed  from  the  outpost  near 
the  shore  by  the  darkness  of  the  early  morning;  and  the  land- 
ing had  actually  been  made  before  it  was  discovered  by  Glover 
himself,  who  instantly  sent  an  express  to  Lee  at  Valentine's 
Hill,  over  three  miles  distant.  It  does  not  appear  that  Lee 
gave  any  orders,  or  sent  any  troops  to  Glover's  support,  but 
spent  the  day  inactively,  so  that  the  glory  of  the  day  belongs 
to  Glover  and  the  brave  men  under  his  command.  Upon  dis- 
covering the  landing,  Glover  at  once  ordered  the  brigade  under 
arms  and  advanced  them  toward  the  point,  leaving  his  own 
regiment  with  the  field-pieces  as  a  reserve  under  command  of 
Captain  Curtis;  so  that  the  number  of  men  actually  engaged 
in  the  fight  which  followed  did  not  exceed  four  hundred. 

Glover  advanced  a  guard  of  forty  men  in  command  of  a 
captain  by  way  of  the  road  toward  City  Island ;  while  he  placed 
the  regiment  of  Colonel  Read  behind  a  stone  wall  on  the  north 
side  of  the  road,  the  regiment  of  Colonel  Shepard  farther  to 
the  rear  on  the  south  side  of  the  road,  behind  a  fine  double 
stone  wall,  and  the  regiment  of  Colonel  Baldwin  still  farther 
to  the  rear  behind  the  regiment  of  Colonel  Read  on  the  north 
side  of  the  road.  These  positions  probably  extended  on  to  the 
Prospect  Hill,  or  "Split  Rock,"  road.  Having  completed 
his  arrangements  for  the  ambuscade,  he  rode  forward  to  his 
advanced  guard. 


/ 


From  September  to  November,  1776  145 


Rodman's  Neck  is  almost  an  island,  the  tide  ebbing  and 
flowing  over  the  salt  meadows  which  separate  it  from  the 
mainland.  The  City  Island  road  passes  over  the  meadows 
on  a  causeway,  both  ends  of  which  were  heavily  wooded;  the 
meadows,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  across,  are  clear. 
To  the  south,  at  the  west  end  of  the  causeway,  are  two  great 
boulders  marking  the  first  position  of  the  patriots,  and  where 
the  fight  began.  From  the  causeway  to  the  British  landing- 
place  near  the  Bowne  house  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half.  The 
view  looking  east  was  taken  from  the  top  of  the  smaller  boulder 
and  shows  the  road  leading  from  Pell's  Point,  over  which  the 
enemy  advanced. 

As  Glover's  advanced  guard  of  forty  men  approached  the 
causeway,  a  similar  advanced  guard  of  the  enemy  debouched 
unexpectedly  from  the  woods  across  the  meadows.  Glover 
ordered  his  men  to  advance  toward  the  approaching  foe,  and 
when  about  fifty  yards  apart,  the  British  poured  in  a  heavy 
but  ineffective  fire;  the  return  fire  of  the  Americans  "fell  four 
of  them,"  as  Glover  quaintly  remarks.  A  spirited  fire  was 
maintained  for  a  few  minutes,  during  which  two  Americans 
were  killed  and  several  wounded ;  but  the  enemy,  now  heavily 
reinforced,  compelled  the  guard  to  retreat.  The  British,  sup- 
posing the  victory  to  be  theirs,  pursued  the  fleeing  Americans ; 
when  suddenly,  within  thirty  yards  of  them,  arose  a  long  line 
of  men  from  behind  a  stone  wall,  who  poured  in  a  murderous 
volley,  compelling  the  British  in  their  turn  to  flee  without 
returning  the  fire.  Five  volleys  were  fired  by  Read's  regiment 
upon  the  mass  of  chasseurs,  grenadiers,  and  light  infantry 
crowded  upon  the  narrow  road. 

For  an  hour  and  a  half,  so  it  is  stated,  no  further  attack  was 

made.    Then  a  heavy  body  of  the  enemy,  supported  by  seven 

pieces  of  artillery,  and  comprising  about  four  thousand  men, 
10 


146 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


once  more  advanced  along  the  road,  shouting  and  firing  their 
guns  harmlessly  at  their  invisible  foes.  Suddenly,  from  Read's 
regiment  again  came  an  unexpected  and  death-dealing  volley, 
which  brought  the  British  to  a  halt  and  a  realization  of  the 
strength  of  their  adversaries.  Seven  volleys  are  said  to  have 
been  fired  by  the  Americans,  while  the  British  and  their  Ger- 
man mercenaries  poured  in  "showers  of  musquetry  and  can- 
non-balls." Read's  work  was  done  and  he  withdrew  to  beyond 
the  flank  of  Shepard's  regiment  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road. 

The  British,  having  learned  nothing  from  their  previous 
experiences  and  believing  the  Americans  were  repulsed,  ad- 
vanced in  solid  masses  in  pursuit ;  when  from  the  double  stone 
wall  on  their  left  flank,  Shepard's  regiment  arose  and  poured  in 
volley  after  volley  upon  the  now  panic-stricken  men  whose 
officers  had  great  difficulty  in  rallying  them.  But  the  dis- 
parity in  numbers  was  too  great,  and  the  Americans  withdrew 
behind  the  third  line  of  Baldwin's  regiment. 

The  enemy  had  now  learned  something  and  advanced  cau- 
tiously in  pursuit.  Baldwin's  fire  was  well  delivered,  but  the 
British  had  the  advantage  of  position  and  were  able  to  use  their 
artillery  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  Americans.  Stubbornly 
and  slowly  the  Americans  fell  back  over  the  "Split  Rock" 
road  and  Wolf's  Lane  until  they  reached  the  Boston  Post-road, 
where  they  crossed  Hutchinson's  River,  removed  the  planks 
from  the  bridge  and  took  position  on  the  heights  overlooking 
the  stream,  where  Captain  Curtis  was  in  reserve  with  the 
artillery.  The  British  cautiously  followed  the  retiring  Ameri- 
cans, with  whom  there  was  a  constant  interchange  of  shots, 
until  they  reached  the  river,  when  they  stopped  the  pursuit. 
An  artillery  fire  was  kept  up  on  both  sides  until  late  in  the  day, 
but  little  or  no  damage  was  done  on  either  side. 

Glover  says:  "After  fighting  all  day,  without  victuals  or 


From  September  to  November,  1776  147 


drink, 1  lay  as  a  picquet  all  night,  the  heavens  over  us  and  the 
earth  under  us,  which  was  all  we  had,  having  left  all  our 
baggage  at  the  old  encampment  we  left  in  the  morning."  The 
next  day,  Saturday  the  eighteenth,  the  brigade  withdrew  to 
the  Mile  Square,  three  miles  distant,  to  the  westward  of  the 
Bronx  River. 

This  engagement  has  been  called  the  Battle  of  Pell's  Point, 
and  it  is  the  most  important,  both  from  its  effects  and  from  the 
number  of  men  engaged,  that  took  place  within  the  Borough, 
though  part  of  the  line  of  retreat  is  in  the  present  village  of 
Pelham  Manor,  and  the  final  position  of  the  Americans  is  in 
the  present  city  of  Mount  Vernon;  the  beginning  and  main 
part  of  the  battle  were  within  the  present  Pelham  Bay  Park. 

The  American  loss  was  six  men  killed,  and  Colonel  Shepard 
and  twelve  men  wounded.  At  this  time,  no  report  of  the 
losses  of  the  German  mercenaries  was  made,  except  to  their 
respective  sovereigns;  but  from  the  statements  of  deserters 
who  came  into  the  American  lines  from  different  regiments  and 
at  different  places  during  the  following  week,  and  from  both 
official  and  unofficial  sources,  the  British  loss  can  be  reliably 
placed  at  between  eight  hundred  and  one  thousand  in  killed, 
wounded  and  missing.  General  Gage  reported  the  entire  loss 
in  killed  and  wounded  at  Bunker  Hill  as  one  thousand  and 
fifty-four;  so  that  this  battle,  which  many  histories  ignore, 
was  almost  equally  disastrous  to  the  British  arms. 2 

Further,  it  saved  the  American  army ;  for  Howe  had  received 
such  a  check  as  to  convince  him  that  he  could  not  advance 
into  the  county  with  impunity.    He  delayed  his  movements 

1  There  was  plenty  of  drinkable  water  along  the  way;  but  by  "drink" 
Glover  evidently  means  rum,  the  almost  indispensable  beverage  of  the 
yeoman  class  of  which  his  command  was  composed. 

2  Dawson,  in  Scharf 's  History  of  Westchester  County ;  William  Abbatt 
in  the  Battle  of  Pell's  Point,  and  Avery's  History  of  the  United  States. 


148 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


until  the  twentieth,  when  he  advanced  to  the  heights  above 
New  Rochelle,  where,  two  days  later,  he  was  joined  by  the 
second  division  of  the  Germans,  consisting  of  eight  thousand 
men  under  General  Knyphausen,  who  had  landed  at  New 
York  on  the  eighteenth  and  been  transported  in  boats  to 
Davenport's  Neck  in  New  Rochelle. 

Washington  in  general  orders,  dated  Headquarters,  Harlem 
Heights,  Oct,  21,  1776,  complimented  Colonel  Glover  and  his 
command. 

"At  the  same  time,  he  hopes  that  every  part  of  the  Army 
will  do  their  duty  with  equal  duty  [sic]  and  zeal  when- 
ever called  upon;  and  that  neither  dangers,  difficulties,  nor 
hardships  will  discourage  soldiers  engaged  in  the  cause  of 
Liberty,  and  contending  for  all  that  freemen  hold  dear  and 
valuable." 

On  October  twentieth,  Washington  learned  through  the 
investigations  of  an  engineer  officer,  Colonel  Rufus  Putnam,  of 
the  presence  of  the  British  at  New  Rochelle  and  of  the  danger 
to  the  stores  at  White  Plains.  He  personally  visited  the 
latter  place  on  the  twenty-first,  inspected  the  ground,  selected 
the  new  positions  of  the  troops,  and  returned  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Kingsbridge,  where  the  movements  preparatory  to 
retreat  were  already  in  progress.  The  retreat  began  the  same 
day  by  way  of  Valentine's  Hill  and  the  roads  to  the  westward 
of  the  Bronx  River,  the  main  route  being  over  what  is  now 
called  the  "pipe  line,"  via  Tuckahoe.  With  the  progress  of 
this  masterly  withdrawal  of  the  whole  army  in  the  face  of  a 
superior  enemy,  without  loss  to  the  retiring  army  in  either 
men  or  stores,  it  is  without  our  province  to  speak.  It  showed 
the  military  genius  of  the  Commander-in-chief  to  be  of  the 
first  class.    The  Battle  of  White  Plains  occurred  on  the 


From  September  to  November,  1776  149 


twenty-eighth ;  and  on  the  fourth  of  November,  General  Howe 
withdrew  from  the  front  of  the  Americans,  his  Westchester 
campaign  a  complete  failure. 

Upon  the  withdrawal  of  the  American  troops  from  their 
positions  at  Fordham  and  Kingsbridge,  the  barracks  and  store- 
houses were  destroyed  and  the  redoubts  dismantled,  the  guns 
being  rendered  useless  or  being  taken  with  the  retiring  army. 
Trees  were  felled  across  the  roads  both  on  Manhattan  and  in 
the  Borough  to  render  them  as  impassable  to  the  enemy  as 
possible;  and  both  bridges,  the  King's  and  the  Farmers',  were 
dismantled.  The  troops  who  remained  were  gathered  within 
the  defences  of  Fort  Washington,  while  Nathanael  Greene, 
with  a  small  force,  occupied  Fort  Lee  on  the  New  Jersey  shore, 
in  general  command  of  both  forts. 

When  Howe  left  New  Rochelle  on  the  twenty-second  for 
his  advance  against  White  Plains,  he  left  the  newly  arrived 
Germans  behind  him.  On  the  twenty-eighth,  Knyphausen 
took  up  his  march  to  Kingsbridge,  via  the  old  Boston  Road 
over  the  Bronx  River  at  Williamsbridge.  Upon  arriving  at 
Kingsbridge,  he  repaired  the  bridges  and  took  possession  of 
the  abandoned  works  of  the  Americans.  Here  he  was  joined 
by  the  other  divisions  of  the  army  after  their  withdrawal  from 
White  Plains,  some  by  way  of  Dobbs  Ferry  and  Yonkers, 
others  by  way  of  New  Rochelle;  and  preparations  were  made 
for  the  reduction  of  Fort  Washington.  Lord  Cornwallis,  with 
his  troops  on  a  flotilla  of  boats,  came  up  the  river  from  Harlem 
and  passed  through  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek  to  the  Hudson  for 
an  attack  upon  the  fort  from  the  river  side.  Two  redoubts, 
Seven  and  Eight,  were  thrown  up  on  Fordham  Heights,  just 
north  of  Burnside  Avenue,  and  on  the  sixteenth  of  November 
they  began  to  fire  on  the  American  outworks,  to  cover  the  attack 
by  the  Germans.    Later  in  the  day,  the  fort  was  carried  by 


150 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


assault,  and  Magaw,  Cadwallader,  and  their  brave  troops, 
picked  men  of  the  American  army,  to  the  number  of  over  three 
thousand,  became  prisoners  of  war;  many  of  them  to  die  in  the 
prisons  of  the  British,  victims  of  the  brutality  of  Cunningham 
and  Loring. 

The  American  works  were  repaired  and  strengthened  and 
renamed  Fort  Knyphausen.  Strong  detachments  occupied 
the  two  redoubts  on  Manhattan,  the  Cock  Hill  fort  and  Fort 
Prince  Charles,  while  posts  were  established  at  the  two  bridges 
for  their  protection.  From  the  British  orders  of  November 
22,  1776,  certain  troops  are  notified:  "Four  Days'  Provisions, 
from  the  23d  to  the  26th,  inclusive,  will  be  issued  to-morrow 
at  Dyckman's  Bridge."  In  the  same  orders:  "Lieut-Gen. 
Knyphausen  will  command  upon  the  Heights  of  Fordham," 
and  "A  weekly  Guard,  of  an  Officer  and  twenty  Dragoons, 
from  New  York  to  King's  Bridge. " 

General  Knyphausen  took  up  his  quarters  in  the  Roger 
Morris  house,  so  recently  occupied  by  Washington  for  the 
same  purpose.  This  house  he  was  to  occupy,  off  and  on,  for 
seven  years,  or  until  the  British  evacuated  the  city. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  REVOLUTION  FROM   NOVEMBER,    1 776,  TO  END  OF  WAR 

THUS  far  during  the  Revolution,  the  contest  within  the 
Borough  had  been  sustained  by  two  large  armies 
carrying  on  a  regular  and  systematic  plan  of  cam- 
paign. From  the  fall  of  Fort  Washington  in  November,  1776, 
until  its  reoccupation  by  the  Americans  in  November,  1783, 
a  period  of  seven  years,  the  contest  was  carried  on  by  smaller 
bodies  of  troops  and  bands  of  marauders  engaged  in  partisan 
warfare,  with  all  the  bitterness  and  distress  that  the  name 
implies.  Not  a  week  passed  without  some  raid  or  outrage 
perpetrated  upon  the  inhabitants,  and  skirmishes  were  con- 
stant between  both  the  regular  and  the  irregular  troops  of 
both  sides. 

In  1776,  after  the  Battle  of  Long  Island,  Oliver  De  Lancey 
was  authorized  to  raise  three  battalions  of  loyalists  from  the 
Tories  of  Long  Island,  New  Jersey,  and  New  York,  and  was 
appointed  brigadier-general  in  command  of  the  district  of 
Long  Island.  Two  of  these  battalions  saw  service  in  the  South ; 
the  third,  known  as  the  Westchester  Light  Horse,  was  re- 
cruited principally  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  Borough,  of 
other  parts  of  Westchester  County  and  of  Connecticut.  It  was 
commanded  by  Lieutenant- Colonel  James  De  Lancey  of  West 
Farms,  a  son  of  "Peter  of  the  Mills,"  and  nephew  of  Brigadier 

151 


152 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Oliver.  The  Queen's  Rangers,  organized  by  the  renegade 
Rogers,  and,  after  the  Battle  of  the  Brandywine,  commanded 
by  Lieutenant-Colonel  John  G.  Simcoe,  was  another  loyalist 
battalion  recruited  from  the  neighborhood  of  New  York.  In 
addition  to  these  two  regiments,  there  were  the  Chasseurs  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Emmerick,  partly  German  and  partly 
loyalist,  and  a  loyalist  battalion  commanded  by  Major 
Baremore. 

After  the  loss  of  Fort  Washington,  the  Americans  withdrew 
to  the  Jerseys,  and  the  brilliant  successes  of  Trenton  and 
Princeton  followed.  General  Lee  was  left  in  Westchester 
County,  but  Heath  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  High- 
lands and  below,  with  headquarters  at  Peekskill.  Lee  finally 
departed,  and  Heath  was  left  without  a  superior  in  the  district. 
He  established  a  line  of  posts  from  the  mouth  of  the  Croton 
River  to  the  Sound  at  Portchester,  then  called  the  "Sawpits." 
In  the  spring  of  1777,  the  British  reoccupied  the  abandoned 
fortifications  of  the  Americans  on  the  mainland,  restored  and 
strengthened  them,  and  built  several  new  ones.  Their  line 
of  outposts  extended  from  Philipse's  Manor  (Yonkers)  through 
Mile  Square,  Williamsbridge,  and  Eastchester,  with  an  interior 
line  of  posts  at  Kingsbridge,  Fordham  Heights,  Morrisania, 
West  Farms,  and  Westchester,  while  the  various  necks  and 
points  of  land  extending  into  the  East  River  were  not  neg- 
lected. There  was  thus  left  between  the  two  opposing 
armies  a  wide  space  of  the  county,  which  was  subject  to  the 
forays  and  marauds  of  both  sides; — this  constituted  the 
famous  Neutral  Ground. 

Both  sides  were  equally  active  in  these  expeditions;  but  as 
the  Borough  was  British  ground,  it  is  with  the  American  raids 
into  it  that  wc  shall  principally  deal.  On  account  of  the  suc- 
cess that  De  Lanccy's  Horse  met  with  in  supplying  the  British 


November,  1776,  to  September,  1783  153 


army  with  beef,  his  troops  came  to  be  known  as  the  Cowboys, 
a  nickname  that  soon  spread  to  all  the  British  troops  and 
loyalists  engaged  in  the  Neutral  Ground,  but  more  especially  to 
the  Tories.  The  American  marauders,  in  their  turn,  were 
called  Skinners,  and  they  were  even  more  blood-thirsty,  thiev- 
ing, and  treacherous  than  the  British;  in  fact,  they  robbed 
entirely  for  their  own  benefit,  using  patriotism  as  a  cloak  to 
cover  their  infamous  deeds.  If  the  irregulars  of  either  side 
were  captured,  the  nearest  tree  usually  sealed  their  fate.  The 
author  has  run  across  several  "Cowboy  trees"  within  the 
Borough;  but  as  they  were  within  the  British  lines,  he  is 
inclined  to  believe  the  fruit  they  once  bore  was  Skinner  and 
not  Cowboy. 1 

In  addition  to  the  battalions  already  mentioned,  there  was 
stationed,  until  Lord  Cornwallis  began  his  southern  campaign, 
a  body  of  dragoons  or  light  horse  under  command  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Banastre  Tarleton,  a  name  well  hated  even  by 
the  average  school  child  of  to-day,  on  account  of  his  sobriquet 
of  "Bloody"  Tarleton.  The  other  commands  were  usually 
composed  of  German  mercenaries,  whose  willingness  to  come 
to  America  had  been  increased  by  the  promise  held  out  to  them 
by  the  British  authorities  that  they  could  add  to  their  pay  by 
plundering  the  inhabitants ;  which  they  proceeded  to  do  with 
strict  impartiality  to  loyalist  and  patriot  alike.  The  popular 
notion  is  that  they  could  do  nothing  else  but  plunder ;  but  one 
has  only  to  visit  Chatterton's  Hill  at  White  Plains,  where  they 
led  the  "forlorn  hope,"  or  the  steep  sides  of  Fort  Tryon  at 
Inwood,  to  learn  the  fact  that  they  could  fight  as  well  as  plun- 
der. The  German  yagers,  whom  Lossing  calls  "hired  assas- 
sins," were  notorious  for  their  plundering.    The  remainder 

1  The  Spy,  by  J.  Fenimore  Cooper,  gives  the  best  account  of  the  Skinners 
and  the  Neutral  Ground  that  can  be  found  anywhere. 


154 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


of  the  forces  occupying  the  Borough  were  British  light  infantry 
or  squadrons  of  light  horse,  and  small  bands  or  companies 
of  loyalist  refugees,  whose  commanders  were  too  obscure  to 
merit  record. 

The  earliest  reoccupation  of  the  Borough  by  British  troops 
was  on  November  3,  1776,  when  the  British  General  Grant 
occupied  De  Lancey's  Mills  at  West  Farms,  and  the  regiment 
of  Waldeckers  took  possession  of  the  vicinity  of  Williams- 
bridge.  Howe's  headquarters  were  at  De  Lancey's  Mills 
during  the  preparations  for  the  attack  on  Fort  Washington. 
The  posts  already  mentioned  were  extended  well  into  the 
country  during  the  summer,  but  were  withdrawn  to  the  Har- 
lem River  and  the  Sound  during  the  winter,  when  the  soldiers 
occupied  barracks  and  huts  erected  for  quarters.  For  fire- 
wood they  used  the  fences,  barns,  and  houses  of  the  neighbor- 
ing farmers  and  denuded  their  land  of  its  standing  timber  to 
supply  the  garrison  and  people  of  the  city.  The  farmers,  thus 
deprived  of  house  and  home,  took  refuge  within  the  lines  of 
either  side,  and,  taking  up  the  sword,  took  a  merciless  revenge 
when  opportunity  offered.  The  section  between  the  lines 
became  a  desolate  wilderness  with  abandoned  farms,  grass- 
grown  roads,  and  broken-down  bridges.  John  Archer's  village 
of  Fordham  between  the  two  bridges  at  Kingsbridge  disap- 
peared as  firewood  for  the  chasseurs  of  Emmerick,  whose  camp 
was  located  at  that  spot. 

At  "Upper  Cortlandt's,"  on  the  bluff  to  the  west  of  Van 
Cortlandt  Park  and  overlooking  the  Albany  Road,  was  an  out- 
post of  light  troops,  usually  composed  of  both  mounted  and 
foot  yagers,  and  of  detachments  of  all  the  German  regiments 
in  New  York.  In  1778,  it  consisted  of  five  companies  of  foot 
and  one  of  mounted  yagers  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  van 
Wurmb ;  and  in  the  following  year,  of  yagers  and  the  corps  of 


November,  1776,  to  September,  1783  155 


Lord  Rawdon,  afterwards  famous  in  the  southern  campaign 
for  his  defeat  of  Gates  at  Camden.  From  this  outpost,  fre- 
quent patrols  were  made  to  the  vicinity  of  Yonkers  and  beyond 
and  towards  the  Mile  Square  and  Valentine's  Hill.  At  the 
Mile  Square,  De  Lancey  kept  a  recruiting  officer  at  all  times. 
Upon  one  occasion  in  1777,  a  band  of  Americans  came  near 
falling  into  an  ambuscade  near  Williamsbridge ;  but  a  young 
girl  saw  the  movements  of  both  sides  and  cautioned  the  Ameri- 
cans by  waving  to  them  from  an  upper  window  of  her  house. 
On  these  excursions,  the  yagers  generally  took  along  a  couple 
of  light  three-pounder  field-pieces  called  amusettes. 

These  patrolling  parties,  gathering  up  recruits,  cattle,  hay, 
and  what  not,  as  well  as  looking  out  for  the  enemy,  did  not 
always  come  and  go  unmolested;  for  Sheldon's  dragoons, 
Major  Harry  Lee,  or  the  fiery  and  impetuous  Frenchman, 
De  Armond,  with  his  corps  of  compatriots,  were  often  lying  in 
wait  for  the  British;  and  as  the  Valentines,  Corsas,  Hadleys, 
and  other  families  of  the  neighborhood  were  patriots,  timely 
notice  of  the  British  movements  was  sent  to  the  American 
commanders  on  the  lines,  while  the  informants,  acting  as 
guides,  led  them  to  convenient  spots  where  the  marauders  could 
be  intercepted.  Andrew  Corsa  and  the  Dyckmans  became 
famous  as  Westchester  guides;  nor  must  we  forget  Enoch 
Crosby  (the  Harvey  Birch  of  Cooper's  The  Spy),  whose  fav- 
orite route  between  the  lines  was  by  way  of  the  Mill  Brook 
valley  at  Morrisania. 

In  the  summer  of  1777,  Lord  Cathcart  commanded  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Kingsbridge,  with  Emmerick's  Chasseurs, 
the  Queen's  Rangers,  and  the  partisan  bands  of  Hovenden, 
James,  and  Sandford.  De  Lancey 's  headquarters  were  at  the 
manor-house  at  Morrisania.  He  was  a  special  object  of  in- 
terest to  the  Americans,  and  many  attempts  were  made  by 


156 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


them  to  capture  him ;  but  he  was  always  too  wary  or  too  for- 
tunate for  his  enemies,  and  he  always  escaped  them.  Upon 
one  occasion  in  1777,  he  rode  to  West  Farms  to  visit  his  aged 
mother.  His  thoroughbred  stallion  True  Briton  was  tied  to 
a  fence,  where  it  was  seen  by  some  American  scouts,  who 
recognized  its  value  and  stole  it.  The  horse  was  taken  to 
White  Plains  and  sold  to  an  enterprising  Yankee  from  Con- 
necticut, who  used  him  for  breeding  purposes  and  thus  began 
the  famous  line  of  Morgan  horses. 

On  January  25,  1777,  some  Americans  attacked  the  block- 
house erected  by  De  Lancey  at  West  Farms ;  but  the  attempt 
was  unsuccessful;  for,  though  some  of  the  loyalists  were 
wounded,  none  was  killed  or  captured. 

On  January  5,  1777,  Washington,  believing  the  post  at  New 
York  to  be  weak  on  account  of  the  main  British  army  being 
in  New  Jersey  and  many  detached  for  duty  in  Rhode  Island, 
directed  Heath  to  approach  Kingsbridge,  and,  if  circumstances 
promised  success,  to  attack  the  fortifications  there.  It  was 
hoped  that,  even  if  the  forts  could  not  be  taken,  the  movement 
would  oblige  the  British  to  detach  large  bodies  of  men  from 
New  Jersey  or  Rhode  Island  for  the  reinforcement  of  New 
York,  thus  threatened  by  attack.  In  accordance  with  these 
instructions,  on  the  seventeenth,  Heath  began  a  concerted 
movement  in  force  against  Fort  Independence. 

General  Lincoln  advanced  by  the  Albany  Post-road  to  the 
heights  above  Van  Cortlandt  Park;  General  Scott  came  from 
Scarsdale  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Valentine  house  on  the  Boston 
Road,  between  Williamsbridge  and  Kingsbridge,  and  Generals 
Wooster  and  Parsons  marched  from  New  Rochelle  over  the 
Boston  Road  to  the  same  neighborhood.  On  the  morning  of 
the  eighteenth,  the  three  divisions  arrived  at  the  enemy's  out- 
posts just  before  sunrise.    Lincoln  captured  the  outpost  in  his 


November,  1776,  to  September,  1783  157 


front  at  "Upper  Cortland t's."  Heath  ordered  the  cannonade 
of  the  Valentine  house,  if  the  guard  there  resisted,  and  sent 
two  hundred  and  fifty  men  into  the  valley  between  the  house 
and  the  fort  to  cut  of!  the  guard  in  case  they  tried  to  retreat 
to  the  fort.  Two  mounted  British  pickets  came  unexpectedly 
upon  the  head  of  Wooster's  column  at  the  Gun  Hill  Road  near 
Williamsbridge,  and  fled  to  give  the  alarm.  One  was  dis- 
mounted by  a  shot  from  a  field-piece  and  captured;  but  the 
other  escaped,  shouting:  "The  rebels!  the  rebels!"  and  alarm- 
ing all  the  British  outposts  and  pickets,  who  at  once  dropped 
everything  and  ran  for  the  fort.  The  garrisons  of  Valentine's 
and  the  Negro  Fort  fled  toward  Fort  Independence  and  were 
fired  upon  by  the  pursuing  Americans,  and  one  of  them  was 
taken  prisoner. 

Heath  then  advanced  upon  the  fort  and  demanded  its  sur- 
render, which  was  refused.  The  garrison  consisted  of  a  body 
of  Hessians  and  the  Queen's  Rangers.  Two  field-pieces  were 
then  sent  to  a  hill  south  of  the  fort  not  far  from  Farmers' 
Bridge  and  they  began  a  cannonade  upon  a  battalion  of  Hes- 
sians on  the  other  side  of  the  Harlem,  near  Hyatt's  tavern.  In 
order  to  get  a  better  shot  at  the  Hessians,  one  of  the  pieces  was 
lowered  down  the  side  of  the  hill  to  the  water's  edge;  when,  to 
the  surprise  of  the  Americans,  the  redoubt  near  the  bridge 
opened  fire  on  them  from  cannon  which  they  did  not  suspect 
were  there;  and  they  were  compelled  to  scramble  up  the  hill, 
dragging  their  gun  behind  them,  to  a  lively  accompaniment  of 
cannon-balls  from  the  British  redoubt.    Heath  says : 

"This  success  at  the  outposts  flew  through  the  country  and 
was  soon  magnified  into  a  reduction  of  the  fort,  and  capture 
of  the  garrison."  Washington  so  reported  it  to  Congress 
before  receiving  the  official  report,  and  great  disappointment 
followed  subsequently  when  the  final  results  were  known. 


158 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


From  the  nineteenth  to  the  twenty-fourth,  there  was  con- 
stant cannonading  from  both  sides  and  occasional  skirmishing 
in  which  both  combatants  lost  several  men  in  killed  and 
wounded.  An  attempt  was  planned  on  the  nineteenth  to  cross 
the  ice  early  on  the  following  morning  and  cut  off  the  detach- 
ment of  Hessians  at  Kingsbridge,  and  one  thousand  men  were 
detailed  for  the  purpose ;  but  the  weather  grew  warmer  during 
the  night,  and  the  ice  became  unsafe,  so  the  attempt  was 
abandoned.  On  the  twenty-first,  a  field-piece  was  hauled  up 
Tippett's  Hill,  and  opened  fire  on  the  outposts  on  Manhattan, 
throwing  them  into  confusion  and  compelling  them  to  seek 
refuge  within  the  redoubts  and  in  the  cellars.  On  the  twenty- 
fourth,  the  weather  moderated  and  a  heavy  rain  set  in,  so  that 
the  Americans  withdrew  from  the  vicinity  of  the  fort.  Many 
cartridges  were  ruined  by  the  wet,  as  the  cartridge  boxes  were 
so  poorly  made.  The  Bronx  River  rose  so  high  that  the  water 
flowed  over  the  bridge  at  Williams's  and  impeded  the  with- 
drawal of  the  divisions  of  Wooster  and  Scott  to  New  Rochelle. 

On  the  twenty-fifth,  early  in  the  morning,  the  enemy  made  a 
sally  upon  the  regiment  stationed  as  an  outpost  at  De  Lancey's 
Mills  and  surprised  and  routed  it  and  compelled  it  to  with- 
draw. Several  were  wounded,  but  none  was  killed  or  taken 
prisoner.  Flushed  with  this  success,  the  enemy  then  followed 
the  retiring  Americans  towards  Williamsbridge,  driving  in  the 
pickets  and  outposts,  who  took  refuge  in  the  redoubt  situated 
to  the  west  of  the  bridge,  while  the  British  took  position 
behind  a  stone  wall  and  sent  in  a  hot  fire.  Some  of  the  troops 
had  already  crossed  the  Bronx  River,  but  Heath  ordered  Cap- 
tain Bryant  of  the  artillery  to  ford  the  bridge  and  the  troops  to 
follow  and  support  him.  When  Bryant  had  almost  reached 
the  top  of  the  hill,  where  the  reservoir  now  is,  he  unlimbered  his 
horses  to  prevent  them  from  being  shot,  and  the  gun  was 


November,  1776,  to  September,  1783  159 


drawn  up  by  hand  almost  within  pistol  shot  of  the  enemy,  as 
the  hill  was  so  steep  that  the  gun  could  not  be  depressed  enough 
to  do  execution  without  getting  close.  Two  shots  were  fired 
which  opened  breaches  in  the  wall,  whereupon  the  British 
fled  precipitately  toward  Kingsbridge.  Two  Americans  were 
killed  and  several  were  wounded.  This  skirmish  has  given 
the  name  "Gun  Hill"  to  the  hill  and  road  to  the  westward  of 
the  Williamsbridge  railroad  station. 

While  it  was  not  the  ultimate  intention  to  besiege  Fort 
Independence,  everything  was  done  by  the  Americans  to  make 
the  enemy  believe  that  the  attack  was  a  serious  one,  with  the 
hope  of  drawing  him  out  of  his  strongholds.  A  detachment 
was  sent  down  to  Morrisania  to  light  a  large  number  of  fires, 
and  a  number  of  flat  boats  was  sent  to  the  same  place,  with 
the  intention  of  making  him  believe  that  a  strong  force  was 
gathering  for  a  descent  upon  York  Island.  This  so  alarmed 
the  guard  at  Montressor's  (Randall's)  Island,  that  they  fired 
the  buildings  and  fled  to  New  York;  and,  it  is  stated  that  a 
brigade  was  sent  to  reinforce  Fort  Washington,  and  orders 
sent  to  Rhode  Island  for  a  detachment  from  that  place. 

On  the  twenty-ninth,  there  was  every  appearance  of  a  heavy 
snow-storm,  and  the  generals  having  unanimously  agreed  that 
it  was  impracticable  to  assault  the  fort  with  militia,  the  troops 
were  ordered  to  withdraw,  and  this  time,  in  earnest.  A  good 
deal  of  forage  was  carried  off,  and  the  divisions  returned  in  a 
heavy  fall  of  snow  to  their  former  positions  at  Dobbs  Ferry  ^ 
New  Rochelle,  and  White  Plains.  The  whole  force,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  artillerymen,  consisted  of  militia.  It  was 
one  of  the  few  times  during  the  war  when  they  showed  them- 
selves capable  and  reliable ;  and  this  too  for  ten  days  and  in  the 
midst  of  winter. 

On  the  thirtieth,  the  storm  cleared  up,  and  a  fleet  of  twenty 


i6o 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


vessels  from  the  eastward  came  to  anchor  between  Hart  and 
City  islands,  probably  with  British  troops  on  board  from 
Rhode  Island.  On  the  thirty-first,  the  Americans  established 
a  cordon  of  troops  from  Dobbs  Ferry  to  Mamaroneck  on  the 
Sound  to  prevent  raids  from  below;  and  on  the  sixth  of  Feb- 
ruary an  ineffective  raid  was  made  by  Colonel  Enos  with  a 
strong  detachment  against  Fort  Independence  with  the  hope 
of  surprising  the  enemy's  outposts,  but  the  enemy  was  too 
watchful.  Two  days  later,  the  inhabitants  of  the  Borough 
were  subjected  to  a  grand  forage  on  the  part  of  the  patriots. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1777,  the  British  established  the  posts 
already  mentioned  and  engaged  in  raids  upon  the  upper  county. 
The  year  was  a  momentous  one;  and  the  attention  of  the 
Americans  was  too  busily  engaged  with  Burgoyne,  with 
Clinton's  attempts  to  get  control  of  the  Hudson,  and  with 
Howe's  advance  on  Philadelphia  to  pay  much  heed  to  the  pre- 
datory warfare  in  which  they  were  later  forced  to  engage  in 
the  Neutral  Ground  by  the  similar  actions  of  the  British.  Dur- 
ing the  whole  of  the  years  1777  and  1778,  the  British  were 
active,  and  had  large  bodies  of  troops  at  Verplanck's  Point  and 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Highlands;  but  by  August  first  of  this 
latter  year  they  had  retired  below  Kingsbridge,  leaving  only 
Emmerick's  and  Baremore's  battalions  above  the  Harlem 
River. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  war,  the  British  kept  a  num- 
ber of  vessels  stationed  in  the  Sound  as  guard-  and  patrol-ships. 
The  inhabitants  themselves  had  a  number  of  whale-boats  in 
which  they  made  raids  across  the  Sound  upon  the  Tories  of 
Long  Island,  in  retaliation  for  the  grievances  they  suffered 
from  the  crews  of  these  ships.  In  1777,  the  guard-vessel 
stationed  off  the  mouth  of  Eastchester  Creek  was  the  Schuldam. 
A  whale-boat  party  from  Darien,  Connecticut,  carried  their 


November,  1776,  to  September,  1783  i6r 


boat  across  Rodman's  Neck  one  night  and  took  possession  of 
the  market-sloop  which  plied  regularly  between  Eastchester 
and  New  York,  carrying  vegetables  and  other  supplies.  From 
her  captain,  they  learned  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  supplying 
the  Schuldam  with  chickens,  eggs,  vegetables,  and  other  farm 
products ;  so  they  concealed  themselves  in  the  hold  of  the  sloop 
and  compelled  her  master  to  lay  her  alongside  of  the  guard- 
ship.  As  they  approached  the  Schuldam,  her  watch  called 
out:  "What  sloop  is  that?"  The  captain  of  the  whale-boat 
party  answered:  "The  Little  Stanton."  "Take  care!  take 
care!  you  will  be  afoul  of  us!"  shouted  the  watch.  "Never 
fear!"  they  yelled  back;  then  added:  "The  whale-boats  are 
out  on  the  Sound  to-night,  and  we  wish  to  get  under  your  lee." 
In  another  minute,  the  sloop  had  been  run  alongside  the  Schul- 
dam, and  the  crew  of  twelve  men  clambered  aboard  and  cap- 
tured her  before  her  crew  could  be  aroused  from  sleep.  The 
watch  was  driven  below,  but  the  noise  of  the  affray  aroused  the 
British  on  City  Island,  and  they  began  to  fire  upon  the  Ameri- 
cans. As  the  Schuldam  was  a  much  larger  vessel  than  they 
were  accustomed  to  handle,  her  captors  obliged  two  of  the 
prisoners,  whom  they  afterwards  set  at  liberty,  to  navigate  her 
into  port.  Before  reaching  Stamford,  they  took  six  other  ves- 
sels bound  for  New  York  with  cargoes  of  wood. 

A  short  time  afterward,  another  party  of  whale-boatmen 
captured  the  island,  but  immediately  paroled  the  inhabitants. 
At  a  later  period,  it  seems  there  was  a  tacit  understanding 
between  the  British  and  the  Americans,  by  which  the  former 
had  possession  of  the  island  by  day,  and  the  latter  at  night. 

On  August  5,  1778,  immediately  after  the  retirement  of  the 
British  to  the  shore  of  the  Harlem  River,  the  Americans  took 
the  offensive  and  a  body  of  one  hundred  horse,  selected  from 
the  squadrons  of  Sheldon,  Moylan,  and  the  militia,  with  about 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


forty  infantry  from  Glover's  regiment,  made  a  raid  by  way  of 
De  Lancey's  Mills  to  Morrisania,  where  they  came  in  contact 
with  the  enemy,  who  were  posted  at  the  manor-house.  A 
sharp  skirmish  followed,  with  a  loss  to  the  Americans  of  two 
killed  and  two  wounded ;  the  British  loss  was  greater,  and  the 
Americans  returned  with  a  dozen  prisoners,  as  well  as  stock 
and  other  plunder.  On  the  fifteenth,  the  enemy  tried  to 
return  the  compliment ;  but  one  of  their  number  deserted  and 
gave  information  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  White  of  the  intent 
to  surprise  him,  so  that  the  scheme  fell  through. 

On  the  twentieth  of  August,  while  patrolling  out  the  Mile 
Square  Road,  Emmerick  and  his  chasseurs  were  attacked  and 
compelled  to  return  to  their  camp  at  Fordham.  The  Ameri- 
can force  consisted  of  a  body  of  light  troops  and  a  body  of 
Stockbridge  Indians,  all  under  command  of  Colonel  Gist.  The 
troops  of  Gist  were  posted  on  each  side  of  the  road  above  the 
present  Woodlawn  Heights  in  two  detachments,  north  of  a 
brook  which  still  finds  its  way  through  the  woods  from  the  hill 
above  into  the  Bronx  River,  while  a  third  party  was  posted 
about  three  hundred  yards  west  of  the  road ;  the  Indians  were 
between  the  last  party  and  the  road.  The  positions  occupied 
by  these  last  two  were  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  present 
Van  Cortlandt  Park,  between  Mt.  Vernon  Avenue,  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  park,  and  Jerome  Avenue,  which  runs  through 
it.  To  the  north  of  Vault  Hill  in  the  park,  was  a  belt  of  woods 
in  which  the  troops  were  concealed;  the  heights  on  which 
the  main  party  was  posted  were  also  wooded  and  are  in  the 
city  of  Yonkers. 

Simcoe  learned  by  means  of  his  spies  that  the  Indians  were 
much  elated  by  the  victory  over  Emmerick  and  supposed  that 
they  had  driven  in  his  whole  force.  He  took  measures  to 
increase  this  belief  still  further;  and,  sending  for  De  Lancey's 


/ 


November,  1776,  to  September,  1783  163 


battalion  and  the  Legion  Dragoons  of  Tarleton,  prepared  a 
plan  for  the  ambush  and  capture  of  the  whole  party  of  Ameri- 
cans and  Indians.  This  was  a  combination  of  the  ablest  and 
most  dashing  partisans  of  the  British  army — Simcoe,  Tarleton, 
Emmerick,  and  De  Lancey. 

On  the  morning  of  August  thirty-first,  the  attacking  force 
advanced  out  the  Mile  Square  Road  and  reached  Woodlawn 
Heights  about  ten  o'clock .  The  rangers  and  dragoons  took 
post  on  the  right  of  the  road;  while  Emmerick  was  ordered 
forward  to  take  post  in  Van  Cortlandt's  woods  at  the  house 
of  Frederick  Devoe,  about  half  a  mile  up  a  lane  leading  to  the 
westward.  By  mistake,  he  took  post  near  the  house  of  Daniel 
Devoe  near  the  entrance  to  the  lane  and  road,  and  sent  a  patrol 
up  the  road.  The  intention  was  for  Emmerick  to  draw  the 
attack  of  the  Americans  and  Indians  and  then  retreat.  The 
pursuing  Americans  would  thus  be  led  into  the  ambush  of 
rangers  and  dragoons  and  the  whole  party  would  be  captured 
or  cut  off. 

Before  Simcoe,  who  was  half-way  up  a  tree  reconnoitring, 
could  stop  the  movement,  he  saw  a  flanking  party  of  Ameri- 
cans approaching,  while  the  Indians  who  lined  the  fence  on 
Emmerick's  left  began  a  smart  fire  upon  the  chasseurs.  He 
therefore  pushed  up  the  brook  towards  Husted's  Heights, 
where  Colonels  Gist  and  Stewart  were  in  position,  Tarleton 
meanwhile  advancing  up  the  road  to  Emmerick's  assistance. 
The  stone  fence  bordering  the  road  prevented  Tarleton's 
dragoons  from  passing,  and  he  was  obliged  to  make  a  circuit 
to  the  right  in  order  to  regain  the  road.  Simcoe,  learning  of 
Tarleton's  difficulty,  left  his  rangers  with  Major  Ross,  and, 
taking  his  company  of  grenadiers,  pushed  down  the  hill  from 
Husted's  into  Van  Cortlandt's  woods  and  reached  the  left  of 
the  Indians  without  being  seen  by  them,  as  they  were  so  busily 


164 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


engaged  in  firing  upon  Emmerick  and  Tarleton.  With  a  yell, 
the  Indians  discovered  their  new  assailants  and  fired  upon 
them,  wounding  Simcoe  and  four  of  his  grenadiers.  Being 
out-flanked  and  out-numbered  the  Indians  were  driven  into 
the  open  fields  south  of  the  lane,  where  Tarleton  and  Emmerick 
got  among  them  with  their  cavalry.  The  Indians  fought  gal- 
lantly, pulling  some  of  the  dragoons  from  their  horses ;  but  the 
contest  was  too  unequal,  and  they  were  forced  to  flee.  The 
horsemen  pursued  them  over  the  fields,  through  the  woods, 
over  Tippett's  Brook  to  the  heights  to  the  westward  of  the 
Albany  Road,  where  the  survivors  hid  themselves  behind  rocks 
and  in  other  places  of  safety  and  thus  escaped.  About  forty 
of  the  Indians  were  killed  and  badly  wounded,  among  the 
former  being  their  old  chief  Nimham  and  his  son.  The  chief 
called  to  his  people  to  fly,  saying:  "  I  am  old  and  can  die  here." 
He  wounded  Simcoe  and  was  killed  by  Simcoe's  orderly. 
Tarleton  led  the  pursuit,  and,  while  striking  a  fleeing  Indian, 
lost  his  balance  and  fell  from  his  horse.  Fortunately  for  him, 
but  unfortunately  for  the  patriots  of  the  Carolinas,  the  Indian 
had  no  bayonet  and  his  gun  was  discharged,  so  that  Tarleton 
escaped.  During  the  pursuit,  Simcoe  and  his  rangers  seized 
the  heights  at  Husted's  and  captured  an  American  captain  and 
several  of  his  men ;  but  the  main  body  under  Gist  and  Stewart 
escaped.  The  bodies  of  the  dead  Indians  were  buried  in  the 
clearing  in  Van  Cortlandt's  woods  where  they  fell;  and  the 
place  has  since  been  known  as  "Indian  Field." 

On  October  third,  Lieutenant  Gill  of  Moylan's  dragoons 
was  patrolling  in  Eastchester,  when  he  discovered  a  body  of 
cavalry  in  his  rear;  he  either  had  to  surrender  or  cut  his  way 
through.  He  chose  the  latter  alternative  and  forced  his  way 
through,  when  he  found  a  body  of  infantry  behind  the  horse; 
these  he  also  charged ;  but  his  horse  was  wounded  in  the  m£lee 


November,  1776,  to  September,  1783  165 


and  fell,  throwing  his  rider  a  prisoner  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  The  American  party  consisted  of  twenty-four;  two 
were  killed  and  one  taken  prisoner;  the  rest  escaped. 

On  October  twenty-seventh,  Simcoe,  while  on  a  raid  near 
South  Amboy,  New  Jersey,  was  taken  prisoner.  "By  the 
capture  of  Simcoe,"  says  Heath,  "the  inhabitants  were  freed 
of  a  very  enterprising  and  troublesome  officer."  He  was  later 
exchanged,  and  at  once  resumed  the  making  of  trouble.  His 
career  was  continued  in  the  South  and  he  was  with  Cornwallis 
at  the  time  of  the  surrender  of  Yorktown;  but  he  and  his 
rangers,  whom  the  patriots  particularly  desired  to  capture, 
escaped  through  a  technicality  in  the  terms  of  capitulation,  of 
which  Lord  Cornwallis  naturally  took  advantage. 

On  the  seventh  of  November,  Colonel  De  Armond  proceeded 
by  way  of  Tarrytown  to  the  vicinity  of  Morrisania  and  sur- 
prised the  house  of  Alderman  William  Leggett  at  Jeffeard's 
Neck  (Leggett's,  or  Oak,  Point),  where  he  captured  Major 
Baremore  and  five  others.  The  expedition  was  carried  out 
with  secrecy,  precaution,  and  despatch,  and  the  capture  of 
Baremore  relieved  the  inhabitants  from  the  frequent  excur- 
sions of  a  troublesome  raider.  The  house  in  which  he  was 
captured  had  been  formerly  the  Graham  mansion;  but  upon 
the  occupation  of  this  section  by  the  British  the  family  had 
been  dispossessed  to  make  room  for  the  British  officers.  The 
last  occupant  of  the  house  was  a  British  colonel  named  Fowler, 
who,  upon  being  detached  from  duty  in  this  vicinity,  invited 
his  neighboring  friends  and  acquaintances  to  a  farewell  dinner. 
The  party  had  just  sat  down  at  the  tables,  when  the  house  was 
reported  to  be  on  fire.  The  Colonel  thereupon  ordered  the 
tables,  chairs,  and  viands  to  be  removed  to  the  lawn,  where  the 
dinner  was  continued  under  the  trees,  while  the  house  burned 
down  without  any  efforts  being  made  to  save  it  from  destruc- 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


tion.  That  same  night,  the  Colonel  led  a  marauding  expedi- 
tion towards  Eastchester,  where  a  skirmish  occurred  with  the 
Americans  and  he  was  mortally  wounded. 

On  November  thirteenth,  Lieutenant  Oakley  took  five 
prisoners  near  Morrisania  and  came  near  capturing  Colonel 
De  Lancey,  the  active  leader  of  the  Westchester  Light  Horse, 
who  occupied  the  Archer  house  lying  under  the  guns  of  Fort 
Number  Eight. 

On  December  second,  De  Armond  made  another  raid  toward 
Morrisania  and  captured  Captain  Cruger  of  Baremore's  corps 
and  two  other  prisoners.  Cruger  was  exchanged  later  and 
became  lieutenant-colonel  of  De  Lancey's  First  Battalion  of 
Loyalists,  and  as  such,  with  a  corps  of  New  York  loyalists, 
successfully  held  the  redoubt  at  Ninety-Six,  South  Carolina, 
for  twenty-seven  days  against  the  attack  of  Greene  and 
Kosciuszko. 

The  winter  of  1 778-1 779  was  an  exceedingly  cold  one,  and 
people  passed  from  Long  Island  to  New  York  on  the  ice.  On 
February  7,  1779,  a  party  of  three  hundred  horse  and  a  regi- 
ment of  infantry  crossed  from  Long  Island  to  Westchester 
town.    Notwithstanding,  predatory  operations  continued. 

About  January  19,  1779,  a  body  of  volunteers  from  the 
militia  regiments  at  Greenwich,  Connecticut,  to  the  number  of 
eighty,  under  command  of  Captains  Keeler  and  Lockwood, 
marched  to  the  house  of  Colonel  Hatfield  at  Morrisania,  near 
the  site  of  High  Bridge,  and  attacked  it  about  one  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  They  first  surprised  the  pickets,  killing  three 
and  driving  the  rest  into  the  house,  where  the  whole  of  the 
attacked  party  took  to  the  upper  floor  and  fired  from  the  win- 
dows and  down  the  stairs  upon  those  who  entered  the  house. 
The  possibility  of  capturing  the  enemy  under  such  circum- 
stances being  remote,  the  house  was  fired  by  placing  some  burn- 


November,  1776,  to  September,  1783  167 


ing  straw  in  one  of  the  closets  in  the  lower  room.  This  com- 
pelled the  defenders  to  jump  from  the  windows  to  escape  the 
flames,  and  the  whole  party,  consisting  of  Colonel  Hatfield, 
one  captain,  one  lieutenant,  one  quartermaster,  and  eleven 
privates,  was  taken  prisoner.  On  the  return,  a  number  of  the 
soldiers,  tired  out  by  their  night's  work  and  believing  there 
was  no  danger,  straggled  behind  their  companions  and  were 
overtaken  by  a  body  of  horse  sent  in  pursuit,  so  that  several 
of  them  were  killed  or  taken  prisoners. 

The  same  winter  of  1 778-1 779,  Colonel  Aaron  Burr  made 
an  attack  upon  the  block-house  at  West  Farms  in  an  attempt 
to  destroy  it.  Provided  with  hand  grenades,  combustibles,  and 
short  ladders,  about  forty  volunteers  approached  cautiously 
at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  cast  their  missiles  into  the 
fort  through  the  port-holes.  Soon  the  block-house  was  on 
fire,  and  the  little  garrison  surrendered  without  firing  a  shot; 
a  few  escaped.  The  block-house  commanded  the  crossing  of 
the  Bronx  River  at  De  Lancey's  Mills.  Its  site  was  after- 
wards occupied  by  Mapes's  Temperance  Hotel  at  the  north- 
east corner  of  East  179th  Street  and  the  Boston  Road. 

In  the  autumn  of  1779,  the  British  began  an  active  cam- 
paign in  the  South,  and  troops  were  withdrawn  from  New  York 
and  its  vicinity.  In  order  to  contend  with  the  American  part- 
isans,— Marion,  Pickens,  Sumter,  Lee,  and  others — similar 
corps  were  needed  by  the  British,  and  so  the  light  horse  of 
Simcoe,  Tarleton,  and  Emmerick,  so  long  the  scourges  of  the 
Neutral  Ground,  were  withdrawn  from  the  Borough  and  sent 
to  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas,  where  we  find  them  doing  active 
service  against  Morgan,  Greene,  and  other  patriot  leaders.  In 
consequence  of  these  withdrawals,  about  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember, all  of  the  redoubts  at  Spuyten  Duyvil  and  Fordham 
Heights,  including  Number  Four  (Fort  Independence),  were 


168 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


dismantled  and  as  thoroughly  demolished  as  could  be  and  their 
stores  and  garrisons  removed  to  Manhattan  Island,  where  the 
fortifications  were  still  further  increased  in  strength.  The  only 
exception  was  Fort  Number  Eight,  which  was  maintained  till 
the  end  of  the  war  as  a  base  for  the  operations  of  De  Lancey's 
corps  and  to  guard  the  pontoon  bridge  over  the  Harlem  River, 
as  well  as  to  serve  as  an  alarm  post  to  the  garrisons  at  the 
northern  end  of  Manhattan  Island.  The  floating  bridge  over 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek  was  also  removed.  These  posts  were 
not  occupied  again  by  either  party  during  the  war,  except 
during  the  grand  reconnaissance  of  August,  1781,  when  Lincoln 
and  De  Chastellux  took  possession  of  Fort  Independence  with- 
out restoring  or  rearming  it. 

In  May,  1780,  Captain  Cushing  of  the  Massachusetts  Line, 
guided  by  Michael  Dyckman,  the  famous  Westchester  guide, 
surprised  De  Lancey's  battalion  near  Fort  Number  Eight  and 
took  over  forty  of  them  prisoners.  On  his  retreat,  Cushing  was 
followed  by  a  large  force  of  yagers  and  others.  This  was 
another  occasion  when  the  commanding  officer  of  the  West- 
chester Light  Horse  was  lucky  enough  to  be  absent  from  his 
command. 

In  a  letter  of  Washington's,  dated  July  31,  1780,  we  learn 
that  it  is  his  intention  to  move  rapidly  in  force  upon  Kings- 
bridge  with  the  object  of  compelling  Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  aban- 
don his  projected  attack  upon  the  newly  arrived  French  at 
Rhode  Island,  or  of  striking  him  in  this  quarter  if  his  troops 
had  been  decreased  by  eight  thousand,  the  number  he  was 
reported  to  have  sent  for  the  attack  on  Rochambeau.  The 
army  was  moved  across  from  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson  to 
Peekskill  and  the  march  toward  New  York  taken  up ;  but  Clin- 
ton, whose  departure  from  Throgg's  Neck  had  been  delayed  by 
the  non-arrival  of  sufficient  transports  for  his  troops,  received 


November,  1776,  to  September,  1783  169 


intelligence  of  Washington's  movement  and  so  gave  up  the 
Rhode  Island  expedition  and  returned  to  New  York.  This, 
in  turn,  obliged  Washington  to  abandon  his  plan,  and  the  troops 
were  again  returned  to  their  cantonments  on  the  west  shore  of 
the  Hudson.  On  the  twenty-first  of  September,  the  British 
force  from  Harlem  to  Kingsbridge  was  reported  at  fifteen 
hundred. 

During  December  of  this  year,  rumors  reached  the  Ameri- 
cans that  De  Lancey  was  planning  a  raid  into  North  Castle, 
above  White  Plains,  and  the  lines  were  disposed  so  as  to  meet 
him.  The  expedition  was  made  on  the  twenty-ninth,  and  De 
Lancey's  party  of  one  hundred  infantry  and  fifty  horse  was 
turned  back  and  most  of  their  plunder  retaken. 

On  January  18  and  19,  1781,  troops  were  ordered  down  for 
an  expedition  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  William  Hull  (the 
commander  of  Detroit,  War  of  18 12)  for  an  attempt  against 
De  Lancey's  post  at  Morrisania.  Hull's  force  consisted  of 
about  three  hundred  men.  He  surrounded  the  loyalists,  forced 
a  passage  to  their  camp,  destroyed  the  pontoon  bridge,  took 
fifty  prisoners,  burned  the  huts  and  forage,  and  took  a  large 
number  of  cattle  which  he  drove  up  to  the  American  lines.  He 
was  closely  pursued,  but  his  covering  party  under  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Hazen  attacked  the  pursuers  and  killed  and  captured 
thirty-five  more.  Hull's  loss  was  twenty-six  men  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing.  The  enemy  retaliated  on  the  seven- 
teenth of  February  by  raiding  Bedford,  where  they  burned 
five  houses,  plundered  and  stripped  the  inhabitants,  and  re- 
turned with  eight  prisoners,  three  of  whom  were  lieutenants  in 
the  army.  On  the  twentieth,  six  of  our  guides  reconnoitring 
towards  Kingsbridge,  fell  in  with  a  similar  party  of  De  Lan- 
cey's and  took  five  of  them  prisoners,  all  wounded.  Number 
Eight  continued  to  be  a  favorite  point  of  attack,  for,  on  the 


170 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


fifth  of  March,  three  more  prisoners  were  taken  near  it.  Per- 
haps, the  hope  of  taking  De  Lancey  himself,  whose  quarters 
had  been  removed  from  the  manor-house  of  Morrisania  to  the 
protection  of  Number  Eight  on  account  of  the  frequency  of 
attacks  at  the  former  place,  may  have  served  to  guide  the 
Americans  to  his  neighborhood. 

In  March  and  April,  the  traitor  Arnold  was  engaged  in 
gathering  a  large  number  of  flatboats  in  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek 
for  some  projected  expedition  on  the  part  of  the  British;  on 
the  eighth  of  April,  these  were  removed  down  the  East  River. 

On  July  21,  1 78 1,  Washington  advanced  in  force  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Kingsbridge  with  the  intention  of  cutting  off 
the  various  light  corps  of  the  British  and  loyalists  who  had 
been  harassing  the  Americans.  General  Lincoln  and  the  Mar- 
quis de  Chastellux  threw  their  troops  into  Fort  Independence, 
and  the  British  on  Manhattan  fired  on  them.  Several  of  our 
troops  were  killed  and  wounded  by  the  long  shots  of  the  yagers, 
who  kept  up  a  popping  fire  whenever  they  could  reach  the 
Americans.  The  advance  was  unsuccessful  for  the  object  it 
had  in  view ;  but  the  British  were  obliged  to  withdraw  from 
the  mainland.  De  Lauzun,  who  commanded  the  left  wing  of 
the  French  army  at  Eastchester,  with  Sheldon's  dragoons 
and  the  Connecticut  militia,  was  to  scour  the  country  toward 
Throgg's  Neck,  Westchester,  and  De  Lancey's  Mills  with  the 
hope  of  destroying  or  capturing  the  loyalist  bands  in  that  vicin- 
ity. He  heard  the  firing  toward  Kingsbridge  and  pushed 
rapidly  to  the  assistance  of  Lincoln  and  De  Chastellux. 

After  this  attempt,  the  combined  armies  fell  back  and  took 
positions  well  down  in  the  Neutral  Ground.  On  the  sixth  of 
August,  General  Washington  and  the  Count  de  Rochambeau 
with  their  staffs  and  a  strong  detachment  of  cavalry  and  infan- 
try as  a  covering  party,  made  a  grand  reconnaissance  and 


November,  1776,  to  September,  1783  171 


inspection  of  the  fortifications  on  Manhattan.  The  whole 
combined  army  was  advanced  for  the  purpose,  and  the  two  com- 
manders rode  from  Kingsbridge  to  Morrisania,  to  the  heights 
of  what  is  now  Franz  Sigel  Park,  making  a  careful  inspection 
through  their  glasses  of  the  enemy's  positions,  while  their 
engineers  made  notes  of  the  redoubts  and  of  the  topography. 
The  British  opened  fire  upon  the  distinguished  group  and  sent 
shot  and  shell  hurtling  among  them,  which  rather  upset  the 
equanimity  of  the  guide,  Andrew  Corsa,  who  took  refuge 
behind  rocks  and  trees.  When  he  saw,  however,  that  the  com- 
manders continued  the  inspection  as  coolly  and  calmly  as  if  no 
such  cannonade  was  in  progress,  his  courage  returned.  The 
conclusion  arrived  at  by  the  generals  was  that  the  enemy  was 
too  strongly  entrenched  for  successful  attack ;  while  to  encom- 
pass the  British  posts  on  Long  Island,  Staten  Island,  and  New 
Jersey  and  reduce  them  would  take  a  very  much  larger  force 
than  was  at  their  command.  The  armies  were,  therefore, 
withdrawn  to  a  position  in  rear  of  the  former  one,  with  the  right 
at  Dobbs  Ferry  and  the  French  left  at  White  Plains,  while  an 
advanced  post  was  held  at  Philipse's  under  Colonel  Scammel, 
another  at  Valentine's  Hill,  and  a  third  at  Eastchester.  It  was 
whispered  that  the  Count  de  Grasse  with  a  French  fleet  was  to 
arrive  off  the  capes  of  the  Chesapeake;  and  the  news  from 
Lafayette,  in  regard  to  the  movements  of  Cornwallis  into  York- 
town,  indicated  where  the  blow  should  fall.  On  August  nine- 
teenth, the  march  for  Yorktown  began ;  and  in  order  to  deceive 
the  enemy  and  to  make  him  believe  the  army  was  still  present 
in  force,  extensive  camp-fires  were  kept  burning  for  several 
nights  on  Vault  Hill  in  the  present  Van  Cortlandt  Park. 

Notwithstanding  the  presence  of  the  American  army  in 
force,  De  Lancey's  command  ventured  as  far  from  Kingsbridge 
as  Yonkers  on  the  fourth  of  August.    On  the  twenty-sixth, 


172 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


they  made  another  raid,  and  three  of  them  were  taken  prisoners 
while  driving  off  some  thirty  sheep,  which  were  recovered. 
Washington,  upon  his  departure  for  the  South,  left  Heath  in 
command  and  advised  him  to  continue  the  petit  guerre  with 
Sheldon's  dragoons,  the  New  York  militia,  and  other  light 
troops,  and  to  hold  the  marauders  in  check.  On  the  nine- 
teenth of  September,  it  was  reported  "that  De  Lancey's  corps 
at  Morrisania  is  afflicted  with  a  mortal  sickness,  and  are  much 
reduced  in  numbers." 

Upon  December  twenty-third,  Captain  Williams  of  the 
New  York  levies,  stationed  on  the  lines,  made  an  excursion  to 
Morrisania  with  twenty-five  volunteers,  and  was  so  successful 
as  to  return  with  one  captain,  one  lieutenant,  and  seven  pri- 
vates of  De  Lancey's  command,  and  without  losing  a  man. 
Captain  Pritchard  moved  down  with  a  detachment  of  Con- 
tinental troops  to  cover  the  retreat  of  the  horse,  but  the  enemy 
did  not  come  out. 

On  January  II,  1782,  Captain  Honeywell  (also  spelt  Hunne- 
well  and  Hunnywell)  of  the  First  Westchester  Militia,  with  a 
number  of  volunteer  horse,  made  an  excursion  to  Morrisania 
and  brought  off  as  prisoners  Captain  Totten  and  three  privates 
of  De  Lancey's  command.  A  party  of  the  enemy's  horse  pur- 
sued the  retiring  Americans,  but  were  checked  by  Major 
Trescott  with  his  covering  body  of  Continental  troops,  and 
no  injury  was  sustained.  The  special  object  of  the  raid  was 
to  capture  De  Lancey,  but  he  was  again  absent  from  his 
quarters. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  February,  Abraham  Dyckman,  the 
Westchester  guide,  with  thirteen  volunteer  horsemen,  made 
another  raid  upon  the  Westchester  Light  Horse  at  Morrisania 
and  took  five  prisoners  and  five  horses.  The  pursuing  party 
came  too  near,  so  the  brave  volunteers  charged  them,  took  one 


November,  1776,  to  September,  1783  173 


man  with  his  horse  prisoner,  and  put  the  rest  to  flight.  The 
enemy  collected  again  and  followed  the  Americans  for  some 
time,  but  did  not  have  the  temerity  to  come  again  within 
striking  distance. 

On  March  fourth,  Captain  Honeywell,  with  a  party  of 
volunteer  horse,  supported  by  some  light  infantry  under  Major 
Woodbridge,  made  a  raid  to  Morrisania,  probably  from  infor- 
mation obtained  from  two  prisoners  of  De  Lancey's  force 
taken  the  preceding  day.  The  horse  proceeded  down  between 
Number  Eight  and  the  cantonments  of  the  Westchester  Light 
Horse,  and,  having  turned  the  latter  between  daybreak  and 
sunrise,  entered  pell-mell.  The  enemy  were  completely  sur- 
prised and  fled  in  every  direction ;  some  were  cut  down,  others 
were  so  badly  wounded  that  they  could  not  be  removed  as 
prisoners.  Several  escaped  and  ran  to  positions  where  the 
horse  could  not  follow  them  and  began  to  fire  upon  the  attack- 
ing party ;  this  occasioned  the  firing  of  alarm  guns  by  the  fort. 
The  horse  then  withdrew,  having  nearly  accomplished  their 
object,  the  capture  of  De  Lancey,  and  carrying  with  them  as 
prisoners  one  subaltern,  twenty  privates,  and  the  same  number 
of  horses.  The  retirement  was  by  way  of  the  Eastchester 
road,  upon  which  Major  Woodbridge  had  prepared  an  ambus- 
cade. The  enemy  quickly  gathered  a  party  of  horse  and  light 
infantry  and  started  in  pursuit,  but  fell  into  the  ambuscade, 
which  fired  one  or  two  volleys  into  them,  when  they  broke  and 
retired,  but  soon  reformed  and  returned  to  the  charge.  The 
skirmishing  continued  for  a  considerable  distance  through 
Eastchester.  The  Americans  lost  two  privates  killed  and  three 
slightly  wounded;  the  guide,  Lieutenant  Dyckman,  was  also 
wounded  mortally.  The  State  of  New  York  has  honored  his 
memory,  as  well  as  that  of  Lieutenant- Colonel  Christopher 
Greene  and  Major  Nathan  Flagg  of  the  Rhode  Island  Regi- 


174  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


ment,  by  the  erection  of  a  handsome  granite  monument  at 
Yorktown  (the  ancient  Crompond),  about  seven  miles  east  of 
Peekskill. 

On  March  fourteenth,  Lieutenant  Harris  obtained  intelli- 
gence of  a  party  of  De  Lancey's  men  being  at  a  house  near  the 
Mile  Square ;  and  with  a  party  of  six  surprised  the  enemy,  con- 
sisting of  twelve  men,  and  killed  one  and  took  four  prisoners. 
On  the  nineteenth  of  May,  the  First  Massachusetts  Brigade 
was  ordered  down  to  Kingsbridge  to  take  possession  of  the 
German  huts  and  encamp  there.  On  June  twenty-seventh, 
there  were  several  British  war  vessels  anchored  off  the  mouth  of 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek. 

It  will  be  noticed  in  most  of  the  raids  that  the  attacking 
force  was  usually  composed  of  militia  and  that  the  supporting, 
or  covering,  party  was  composed  of  regulars.  This  was  proba- 
bly in  pursuance  of  a  plan  to  inure  the  militia  to  danger  and 
to  give  them  confidence  so  that  they  would  be  rendered  less 
unreliable.  Their  plundering  proclivities  were  also  given  full 
play  when  they  got  inside  the  British  cantonments. 

On  September  16,  1782,  the  enemy  made  a  grand  forage  near 
Valentine's  Hill  under  the  personal  supervision  of  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief, Sir  Guy  Carleton.  He  was  attended  by  the 
young  prince,  William  Henry,  afterwards  King  William  Fourth, 
and  a  large  detachment  of  troops,  stated  to  have  been  between 
five  and  six  thousand,  as  a  covering  party.  The  enemy  fore- 
stalled the  Americans,  who  were  sadly  in  want  of  forage  them- 
selves, owing  to  the  dryness  of  the  season.  On  October 
twentieth,  the  British  demolished  their  works  at  Number 
Eight.  A  few  days  later,  the  American  army  withdrew  to 
cantonments  in  the  Highlands. 

Both  sides  were  awaiting  the  news  of  the  signing  of  a  defini- 
tive treaty  of  peace,  and  active  operations  ceased  in  the  early 


November,  1776,  to  September,  1783  175 


part  of  1783.  The  district  so  frequently  raided  by  the  light 
troops  of  both  sides,  thus  deprived  of  all  military  control,  or 
semblance  of  it,  was  given  over  to  irresponsible  bands  of 
thieves  and  plunderers,  who  took  from  the  few  remaining 
inhabitants  what  little  they  had  left.  Until  the  civil  authority 
of  the  State  was  once  more  established,  the  Borough  was 
the  scene  of  murder,  robbery,  and  burnings,  which  were 
without  any  cloak  of  military  authority,  except  in  so  far  as 
they  were  revengeful  attacks  upon  the  few  hated  loyalists  who 
remained,  or  who  had  not  fled  to  New  York  upon  the  with- 
drawal of  the  British  outposts.  Even  as  it  was,  these  ma- 
rauders did  not  waste  much  time,  if  there  was  anything  to  be 
stolen,  in  asking  or  inquiring  into  the  political  opinions  of  their 
victims. 

On  August  7,  1783,  Sir  Guy  Carleton  received  orders  from  his 
government  to  evacuate  the  city  of  New  York ;  but  the  move- 
ment was  delayed  for  several  months  owing  to  the  great  num- 
ber of  loyalists  who  were  in  the  city.  Rigorous  measures  of 
punishment  and  confiscation  had  been  enacted  in  all  the  States 
against  these  unhappy  adherents  of  the  crown,  and  as  no 
assurances  of  protection  could  be  given  by  the  military  authori- 
ties in  view  of  the  prospective  resumption  of  power  by  the 
civil  authorities,  they  nearly  all  desired  expatriation  rather 
than  submit  themselves  to  the  doubtful  mercies  of  their  former 
neighbors  and  countrymen.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  British 
Government  that  it  did  not  forsake  these  unfortunates  entirely 
in  their  hour  of  need ;  and  especially  is  credit  due  to  the  kind- 
hearted  Carleton,  whom  Heath  considered  as  the  ablest  and 
best  of  all  the  British  generals  who  served  in  America.  Trans- 
portation to  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  Upper  Canada,  and 
England  was  therefore  furnished;  but  several  months  were 
consumed  before  the  city  was  cleared  of  the  loyalists  and  the 


176 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


troops  ready  to  depart.  The  day  was  finally  set  for  the 
twenty-fifth  of  November. 

In  view  of  the  departure  of  the  British  troops,  Governor 
George  Clinton,  on  November  fifteenth,  issued  a  proclamation 
calling  the  civil  officers  of  the  State  government  to  meet  him  in 
council  at  Eastchester,  and  steps  were  taken  by  both  sides  to 
prevent  any  disorderly  demonstrations  upon  the  occasion  of 
the  reoccupation  of  the  city  by  the  Americans. 

A  few  days  before  the  twenty-fifth,  the  remaining  American 
troops,  little  more  then  a  grand  guard  of  honor  to  General 
Washington  and  Governor  Clinton,  under  command  of  General 
Knox,  began  their  march  from  Dobbs  Ferry  over  the  Albany 
Road  to  Kingsbridge,  crossing  on  the  twenty-fourth  and  reoc- 
cupying  the  upper  portion  of  Manhattan.  On  the  following 
morning,  the  march  was  continued  over  the  connecting  roads 
and  down  the  Bowery  Lane;  and,  as  the  Americans  entered 
the  upper  end  of  the  city,  the  British  departed  from  the  Bat- 
tery, after  seven  years  and  two  months  of  possession. 


CHAPTER  IX 


FERRIES  AND  BRIDGES 

THE  Borough  of  The  Bronx  is  separated  from  the 
Boroughs  of  Manhattan,  Brooklyn,  and  Queens  by 
Long  Island  Sound,  the  East  River,  the  Harlem 
River,  and  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek.  The  origin  of  the  name 
of  the  "Sound,"  as  it  is  distinctively  known  to  all  the  in- 
habitants of  the  southeastern  part  of  New  York  State,  is 
apparent  from  the  geographical  definition  of  the  term.  The 
East  River  was  so  called  from  its  lying  east  of  the  island 
of  Manhattan.  In  the  Keskeskeck  deed  of  1639,  we  read 
of  "the  Kil  which  runs  behind  the  Island  of  Manhattan, 
mostly  east  and  west."  This  kill,  which  was  called  by 
the  Indians  Muscoota,  soon  received  a  more  distinctive 
name;  for  the  Dutch  settlers  had  already  begun  to  occupy 
the  flats  at  the  northern  end  of  the  island,  and  with  char- 
acteristic Dutch  patriotism,  called  their  little  settlement 
Nieuw  Haarlem,  after  the  town  of  Harlem  in  Holland. 
The  kill  thus  became  known  as  the  Haarlem,  or  Harlem, 
River.  It  does  not  run  "mostly  east  and  west,"  but 
rather,  north  and  south.  It  is  not  a  true  river;  but  with 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek  it  constitutes  a  strait  connecting  the 
Hudson  with  the  Harlem,  which  latter  is  itself  a  strait  con- 
necting the  Sound  with  New  York  Bay. 
12  177 


i78 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek  appears  on  ancient  maps  and  docu- 
ments as  "Spouting  Devil/'  "Spiking  Devil,"  "Spikendevil," 
"Spitting  Devil,"  and  several  other  variants,  as  well  as  under 
its  Indian  name  of  Muscoota.  The  origin  of  the  name  is 
problematical.  One  reason  given  for  it  is  that  near  the  eastern 
entrance  of  the  creek,  the  inflowing  tides  from  the  Hudson  and 
Harlem  rivers  met  and  caused  such  a  commotion  in  the  water 
as  to  make  it  difficult  and  dangerous  to  pass;  the  waves,  or 
tide  rips,  throwing  the  water  into  the  air,  or  spouting.  The 
second  part  of  the  name  expresses  plainly,  but  profanely,  the 
feelings  of  those  attempting  to  use  the  passage.  Another  the- 
ory given  by  Riker  is  that  the  Indians  gave  it  the  name  of 
"  Spouting  Devil"  in  memory  of  the  attack  made  upon  them  by 
the  Half-Moon  on  her  return  down  the  river,  when  she  spouted 
fire  at  them  from  her  falcons.  This  would  suppose  on  the  part 
of  the  Indians  a  knowledge  of  English  which  they  could  not 
have  had  until  nearly  sixty  years  after  the  event.  Still  another 
theory  ascribes  the  name  to  the  spouting  spring  at  the  foot  of 
Cock  Hill,  Manhattan;  and  Riker  quotes  from  an  old  record 
of  1672,  which  calls  it  expressly,  Spuyten  Duyvil,  alias  the 
Fresh  Spring.  He  also  states  that,  in  consequence,  this 
section  was  known  for  many  years  as  the  Spring.  John  Adams, 
in  his  diary,  calls  it  the  Uncas  River,  possibly  meaning  Yonkers 
River,  one  of  the  names  by  which  Tippett's  Brook  was  some- 
times known. 

The  most  popular  origin  of  the  name  is  that  given  by 
Washington  Irving,  whose  descriptions  have  such  verisimili- 
tude that  they  have  almost  passed  into  authentic  history. 
In  describing  the  capture  of  New  Amsterdam  by  the  English, 
in  1664,  Diedrich  Knickerbocker  says  that  when  the  British 
appeared  off  the  city  in  September,  1664,  Stuyvesant  sent 
his  trumpeter,  Anthony  Van  Corlaer,  to  arouse  the  surround- 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


179 


ing  country  to  come  to  the  assistance  of  his  beloved  city. 
When  the  trumpeter  reached  the  creek  separating  Manhattan 
Island  from  the  mainland,  it  was  dark  and  stormy,  and  Van 
Corlaer  could  get  no  one  to  ferry  him  across.  He  fumed  and 
spluttered  for  a  while;  then,  realizing  the  importance  of  his 
errand,  took  a  swig  of  his  black  bottle,  and  plunged  into  the 
stream,  exclaiming  at  the  same  time  in  Dutch:  "I  will  cross, 
en  spijt  den  Duyvil  (in  spite  of  the  Devil)."  When  the  luck- 
less trumpeter  was  half-way  across,  he  was  seen  to  struggle 
violently  as  if  battling  with  his  Satanic  majesty.  At  the  same 
time  an  enormous  moss-bunker — a  fish  very  common  in 
these  waters — was  seen  to  rise  from  the  water  and  grab  the 
struggling  trumpeter;  an  instant  later,  and  both  disappeared 
beneath  the  waves  forever.  Such,  in  brief,  is  the  origin  of 
the  name,  according  to  Irving. 

The  western  boundary  of  the  Borough  is  the  lordly  Hudson, 
called  by  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  the  State  the 
river.  No  bridges  or  ferries  connect  the  Borough  with  the 
opposite  shore  of  New  Jersey. 

There  was,  doubtless,  some  communication  between  the 
mainland  and  New  Harlem  in  canoes  and  dug-outs,  and 
the  fertile  woods  of  the  former  furnished  a  range  for  cattle.  In 
October,  1667,  Colonel  Nicolls  granted  four  lots  near  Spuyten 
Duyvil  to  the  inhabitants  of  Harlem  for  that  purpose.  It 
was  not  until  the  mainland  became  more  settled,  and  com- 
munication with  the  eastern  colonies  more  desirable,  that 
ferries  were  established  or  bridges  built. 

As  early  as  1658,  the  director-general  of  New  Netherland 
authorized  the  maintenance  of  a  ferry  with  a  suitable  scow 
between  Harlem  and  Brouncksland.  Nothing  was  done, 
however,  until  1666,  when  Governor  Nicolls  granted  a 
charter  to  the  Harlemites,  in  which,  among  other  things,  he 


i  So  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 

allowed  them  "a  ferry  to  and  from  the  main  which  may 
redound  to  their  particular  benefit,"  and  to  construct  one  or 
more  suitable  boats  or  scows  for  the  transportation  of  men, 
horses,  and  cattle  at  reasonable  charges.  In  January  of  the 
following  year  (1667),  the  authorities  of  Harlem,  in  carrying 
out  the  provisions  of  their  charter,  determined  to  establish 
a  good  ferry,  and  that  a  suitable  ordinary,  or  tavern,  should 
be  built  for  the  accommodation  of  those  who  used  the  ferry. 
Mayor  Delaval  promised  to  furnish  the  nails  for  the  making 
of  a  scow,  provided  their  value  should  be  paid  to  him  by  the 
ferryman. 

Johannes  Verveelen  agreed  to  take  the  ferry  and  maintain 
the  tavern  for  six  years;  and  he  was  duly  sworn  to  provide 
lodging,  food,  and  drink  to  travellers,  and  to  ferry  them  over 
the  river  at  their  convenience ;  but  no  liquor  was  to  be  sold  to 
Indians.  The  ferry  and  inn  were  located  about  three 
hundred  feet  west  of  the  present  First  Avenue,  at  East  123d 
Street.  The  site  on  the  Borough  side  is  unknown,  but  it 
was  probably  within  the  limits  of  the  yards  of  the  New  York, 
New  Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad.  The  filling  in  and  ex- 
tension of  water-front  property  have  changed  very  materially 
ancient  sites  and  locations ;  places  which  were  upon  the  shore 
in  olden  days  are  now  very  often  several  blocks  inland. 

Verveelen  did  not  always  strictly  observe  the  excise  laws, 
and  this  brought  him  into  conflict  with  the  authorities;  but 
his  contention  that  he  was  a  public  benefactor  and  should, 
on  account  of  expenses,  be  exempt  from  excise  fees,  seems  to 
have  prevailed;  for  on  July  3,  1667,  a  new  arrangement  was 
made  with  him  by  which  he  was  to  maintain  the  tavern  and 
ferry  for  five  years  without  the  payment  of  rent  therefor.  In 
addition,  he  received  an  acre  of  land  on  the  Bronx  side  of  the 
river,  and  a  place  to  build  a  house,  which  should  be  bought 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


181 


from  him  at  an  appraised  value  in  the  event  of  the  ferry  being 
leased  to  another  ferryman.  The  rates  of  ferriages  were  as 
follows: 

For  every  passenger,  two  pence  silver  or  sixpence  wampum ; 
for  every  ox  or  cow  that  shall  be  brought  into  the  boat,  eight 
pence  or  twenty-four  stivers;  cattle  under  one  year  old,  six- 
pence, or  eighteen  stivers  wampum;  all  cattle  that  swam  over 
paid  half  price.  At  the  tavern  the  charges  were:  meals,  eight 
pence;  lodging,  two  pence;  for  keep  of  horse,  four  pence,  or 
twelve  stivers  wampum,  provided  the  grass  be  in  fence. 
Government  messages  were  to  be  carried  free;  and  in  consid- 
eration of  his  maintaining  houses  on  both  sides  of  the  river, 
he  was  exempt  from  paying  taxes  on  ' '  what  wine  or  beer  he  may 
retail  in  his  house  "  for  one  year  from  the  date  of  the  agreement. 

The  "wading  place"  has  already  been  mentioned  several 
times.  It  was  a  natural  ford  through  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek 
about  where  the  bridge  carries  Broadway  across  the  stream. 
In  ancient  days,  there  was  a  tidal  stream  from  Tippett's 
Brook,  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  its  mouth,  con- 
necting with  the  Harlem  River  about  where  the  Kingsbridge 
station  of  the  railroad  is  now  located.  This  made,  in  con- 
nection with  Tippett's  Brook  and  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  an 
island,  principally  of  low,  marshy  land  with  a  rocky  core, 
which  was  known  as  Paparinaman,  or  Paparinemo.  This 
connecting  creek  has  long  since  filled  up  by  alluvial  deposits; 
in  fact,  the  whole  stretch  of  land  from  the  creek  to  the  Van 
Cortlandt  mansion,  and  between  Tetard's  Hill  on  the  east 
and  Tippett's  Hill  on  the  west,  with  the  exception  of  the  rocky 
bluff  over  which  Church  Street  runs,  is  also  of  alluvial  deposit. 
During  the  three  years  from  1901  to  1904,  contractors  were 
engaged  in  laying  a  great  trunk  sewer  on  the  line  of  Broadway, 
and  the  deep  excavations  laid  bare  the  several  strata  of  this 


182 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


deposit,  the  lowest  being  of  rich,  black  vegetation  in  that 
condition  of  decay,  or  preservation,  known  as  peat.  The 
grasses  of  the  ancient  meadows  were  plainly  perceptible, 
though  they  had  been  covered  for  centuries  by  the  deposits 
of  sand,  clay,  or  gravel  at  the  bottom  of  what  must  have  been 
in  earlier  times  a  very  considerable  bay,  within  the  boundaries 
just  given.  The  whole  is  now  a  vast  meadow,  through  which 
flows  Tippett's  Brook,  rising  and  falling  with  the  tide. 

Nature  had  placed  in  the  middle  of  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek 
a  reef  which  was  bare  at  low  tide,  and  which  had  been  from 
time  immemorial  a  ford,  or  wading  place,  to  and  from  the 
mainland.  The  new  ferry  at  Harlem  could  not  divert  travel 
from  this  ford;  and,  as  Verveelen  lost  his  fees  by  its  use,  he 
was  directed  by  the  Harlem  authorities  to  fence  off  the  ap- 
proach to  the  ford.  The  fence  he  erected  was  torn  down  by 
travellers,  who  continued  to  use  the  ford  so  as  to  save  tolls. 
John  Barker,  of  Westchester,  passed  over  it  with  a  number  of 
cattle,  and  Verveelen  claimed  that  he  had  been  defrauded  of 
his  ferriages.  A  suit  brought  by  him  in  the  Mayor's  court  at 
Harlem  was  decided  in  his  favor,  and  Barker  was  obliged  to 
pay  the  tolls;  but  Verveelen  was  directed  to  repair  the  fences 
with  the  money.  Again  and  again  the  fences  were  torn  down 
and  travellers  used  the  ford;  until,  finally,  the  Harlemites 
recognized  the  futility  of  attempting  to  divert  traffic  from 
this  natural  highway  and  proposed  abandoning  the  Harlem 
ferry.  Governor  Lovelace,  to  whom  Verveelen  appealed, 
claiming  that  he  would  lose  heavily  by  this  abandonment, 
communicated  with  the  Harlem  authorities,  February  27,  1669, 
and  suggested  the  removal  of  the  ferry  to  the  more  convenient 
"wading  place."  In  this  the  authorities  concurred  on  the 
second  of  March;  and  the  same  day,  Verveelen  was  granted 
the  ferry  for  three  years  by  Governor  Lovelace,  to  be  main- 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


183 


tained  "at  the  place  commonly  called  Spuyten  Duyvel,  between 
Manhattan  Island  and  the  new  village  called  Fordham." 

In  obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  governor,  the  approaches 
on  both  sides  were  fenced  off  so  as  to  prevent  the  use  of  the 
ford.  Verveelen  received  a  grant  of  the  island,  or  neck,  called 
Paparinemo,  where  he  was  to  erect  a  good  house,  furnished 
with  three  or  four  good  beds  for  the  entertainment  of  travellers, 
and  to  keep  at  all  seasons  a  proper  supply  of  food  for  them, 
their  horses,  and  their  cattle,  as  well  as  stabling.  In  addition, 
he  was  to  have  a  ' '  sufficient  and  able  boat ' '  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  travellers  and  their  horses  and  cattle;  and  to  be  in 
attendance  himself,  or  by  deputy,  at  all  seasonable  hours  to 
transport  the  same  across  the  ferry ;  also  to  preserve  and  keep 
in  order  a  fence  furnished  with  a  gate  which  should  keep  out 
all  persons  from  the  wading  place  without  his  permission. 

The  ferry  franchise  and  Paparinemo  were  granted  to  him,  his 
heirs  and  assigns  for  eleven  years  from  November  1,  1669,  with 
the  right  of  preference  in  the  letting  of  the  ferry  at  the  ex- 
piration of  that  period.  The  quit-rent  was  ten  shillings  yearly 
to  the  Duke  of  York.  Persons  on  government  business,  and 
those  summoned  under  arms  in  an  emergency  were  to  pass 
free,  as  well  as  droves  of  horses  and  cattle  the  day  before  a 
fair,  the  day  of  it,  and  the  day  after  it.  All  persons,  under 
prescribed  penalties,  for  the  infliction  of  which  Verveelen  was 
made  a  constable,  were  to  pay  toll  as  follows: 

"For  lodging  any  person,  eight  pence  per  night,  in  case  they 
had  a  bed  with  sheets ;  and  without  sheets,  two  pence  in  silver ; 

"For  transportation  of  any  person,  one  pence  in  silver; 

"For  transportation  of  a  man  and  horse,  seven  pence  in 
silver ; 

"For  a  single  horse,  six  pence; 

"For  a  turn  with  his  boat,  for  two  horses,  ten  pence;  and 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


for  any  more,  four  pence  apiece;  and  if  they  be  driven  over, 
half  as  much; 

"For  single  cattle,  as  much  as  a  horse; 

"For  a  boat-loading  of  cattle,  as  much  as  he  hath  for  horses; 

"For  droves  of  cattle  to  be  driven  over  and  opening  ye 
gates,  two  pence  per  piece; 

"For  feeding  of  cattle,  three  pence  in  silver; 

"For  feeding  a  horse  one  day  or  night  with  hay  or  grass, 
six  pence." 


The  expression  "to  be  driven  over"  refers  to  the  use  of  the 
ford  instead  of  the  boat.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
distance  across  was  greater  then  than  it  is  now,  as  the  sides 
of  the  creek  have  been  filled  in.  If  any  reader  has  ever  seen 
the  tide  race  through  the  creek  before  the  cutting  of  the  ship 
canal,  he  can  easily  believe  that  the  working  of  the  boat  from 
shore  to  shore  was  no  easy  task. 

The  approach  to  the  upper  side  of  the  ferry  was  over  the 
meadow,  or  marsh,  already  described  as  the  island  of  Paparin- 
emo,  and  Verveelen  was  obliged  to  stand  one  third  of  the 
expense  of  building  a  bridge  or  causeway  to  the  village  of 
Fordham.  His  neighbors,  Betts,  Tippett,  and  Hadden  (or 
Haddy),  whose  purchases  of  land  from  Elias  Doughty  have 
already  been  noted,  were  more  anxious  to  have  a  bridge  over 
the  Bronx  River,  so  as  to  get  to  Eastchester,  which  was  more 
convenient  to  their  land.  The  interested  parties,  as  well  as 
the  inhabitants  of  Fordham,  were  summoned  to  a  hearing 
before  the  governor  at  the  Fort;  and  after  hearing  all  sides, 
he  decided  that  the  causeway,  being  the  bigger  undertaking, 
should  be  finished  first,  and  then  all  hands  should  turn  to  and 
help  Betts,  Tippett,  and  Hadden  to  build  the  bridge  to  East- 
chester (probably  the  beginning  of  Williams's  bridge),  which 
should  have  a  fence  or  gate  on  the  eastern  side  to  keep  the 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


185 


"Hoggs"  from  roaming  across.  The  freedom  of  the  ferry- 
was  granted  to  the  three  proprietors,  and  also  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Fordham  for  their  assistance  in  building  the  "causey," 
as  long  as  the  ferry  was  run  by  Verveelen  and  his  assigns. 
This  causeway,  in  all  likelihood,  was  on  the  same  line  as  the 
street  connecting  Broadway  with  the  Albany  Post -road,  of 
which  it  was  a  part,  and  which  was  named  locally  Macomb 
Street.  The  building  of  the  causeway  was  an  opportunity 
for  John  Archer  to  get  into  a  row  with  his  neighbors,  Betts, 
Tippetts,  Hadden,  and  Verveelen — a  chance  which,  if  we  are 
to  believe  the  records  of  him,  he  would  not,  and  did  not,  let 
pass.  Verveelen  was  ferryman  for  many  years,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Daniel,  who  was  ferryman  until  the 
building  of  the  King's  bridge,  in  1693. 

There  was  established,  in  1743,  a  ferry  from  the  mouth  of 
Westchester  Creek  to  Powell's  Point  at  Whitestone,  Long 
Island.  Ferris  Avenue  leads  down  from  the  Throgg's  Neck 
road  to  "Old  Ferry  Point"  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  creek. 
In  1755,  a  ferry  was  in  operation  between  Ann  Hook's  Neck, 
or  Rodman's  Neck,  and  Hempstead  Bay  on  Long  Island, 
Samuel  Rodman  and  John  Wooley  being  the  patentees.  On 
an  ancient  map  of  Eastchester,  there  is  marked  a  side  road 
"leading  to  the  Whitestone  Ferry";  which  establishes  the 
fact  of  a  ferry  from  some  point  on  Eastchester  Creek  to  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Sound.  These  ferries  were  probably 
maintained  in  a  rude  boat,  a  large  dug-out,  called  a  periauger, 
capable  of  carrying  passengers,  but  not  horses  or  cattle.  The 
Harlem  ferryboat  was  a  large  scow  built  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  heavy  animals  and  wagons,  as  we  can  see  by  the 
rates  of  toll.  The  East  River,  or  Sound,  was  narrow  at  the 
points  of  passage,  so  that  communication  was  easy;  for 
animals  and  wagons,  sloops  were  used.    Long  Island,  in  com- 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


parison  with  Westchester  County,  was  thickly  settled,  so 
that  a  ready  and  easy  means  of  communication  was  not  only 
convenient  but  necessary.  The  Long  Island  settlements 
were  nearer  to  the  county  than  New  York  City;  and  a  trip 
to  the  city  by  land  was  long  and  tedious,  as  the  traveller  had 
to  go  by  way  of  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek;  while  by  water,  the 
voyager  had  to  encounter  all  the  dangers  and  terrors  of 
Hell  Gate,  a  mighty  bugbear  in  the  early  days  before  Fulton 
planned  his  ''folly"  and  introduced  steam  navigation. 

As  time  passed,  the  travel  between  York  Island  and  the 
mainland  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  deemed  ad- 
visable to  substitute  a  bridge  for  the  ferry.  Accordingly, 
in  1680,  the  Governor's  Council  ordered  a  survey  to  be  made 
at  the  "Spiting  Devil"  with  that  end  in  view,  and  a  bill  was 
introduced  in  the  Provincial  Assembly  in  1690,  authorizing 
its  construction.  In  the  following  year,  Governor  Fletcher 
recommended  it  to  the  city  authorities,  but  they  were  deterred 
from  building  it  by  "the  great  expense."  In  January,  1693, 
Frederick  Philipse  offered  to  build  it  at  his  own  expense,  pro- 
vided he  were  assured  of  reasonable  tolls  to  cover  his  outlay 
and  expense.  His  manor  grant  of  June  12,  1693,  reads  in 
part: 

"And  whereas  our  loving  subject  the  said  Frederick  Philipse 
.  .  .  prayed  .  .  .  that  we  would  further  grant  unto  our  said 
loving  subject  a  certain  neck  or  island  of  land  called  Paparin- 
emo  .  .  .  with  the  salt  meadows  thereunto  belonging, 
together  with  power  and  authority  to  erect  a  bridge  over  the 
water  or  river  commonly  called  Spiten  devil  ferry  or  Papa- 
rinemo,  and  so  receive  toll  from  all  passengers  and  droves  of 
cattle  that  shall  pass  thereon,  according  to  rates  hereinafter 
mentioned  .  .  .  and  that  he  is  likewise  willing  at  his  own 
proper  cost  and  charge  to  build  a  bridge  at  the  ferry  aforesaid 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


i87 


for  the  benefit  and  accommodation  of  travellers  .  .  .  Know 
ye,  that  of  our  special  grace,  certain  knowledge,  and  mere 
motion  we  have  given,  granted,  etc.  .  .  .  unto  said  Frederick 
Philipse  .  .  .  the  aforesaid  neck  or  island  of  land  called 
Paparinemo,  and  the  meadow  thereunto  belonging,  with 
power,  authority,  and  privilege  to  erect  and  build  a  dam  bridge 
upon  the  aforesaid  ferry  at  Spitendevil  or  Paparinemo  and 
to  receive  rates  and  tolls  of  all  passengers  and  for  droves  of 
cattle  according  to  the  rates  hereafter  mentioned  (that  is  to 
say),  three  pence  current  money  of  New  York  for  each  man 
or  horse  that  shall  pass  the  said  bridge  in  the  day  time,  and 
three  pence  current  money  aforesaid  for  each  head  of  neat 
cattle  that  shall  pass  the  same,  and  twelve  pence  current 
money  aforesaid  for  each  score  of  hogs,  calves,  or  sheep  that 
shall  pass  the  same,  and  nine  pence  current  money  aforesaid 
for  every  boat,  vessel,  or  canoe  that  shall  pass  the  said  bridge 
and  cause  the  same  to  be  drawn  up,  and  for  each  coach,  cart, 
or  sledge,  or  waggon  that  shall  pass  the  same  the  sum  of  nine 
pence  current  money  aforesaid  [Here  follow  advanced  rates 
for  passage  after  sunset — Author.]  .  .  .  and  it  is  our  royal 
will  and  pleasure  .  .  .  the  aforesaid  bridge  to  be  from  hence- 
forth called  Kingsbridge  in  the  manor  of  Philipseborough 
aforesaid  .  .  .  reserving  unto  us,  our  heirs  and  successors, 
free  egress  and  ingress  of  all  and  their  forces,  horse  or  foot, 
of  our  and  their  coaches,  waggons,  stores  of  war,  ammunition, 
and  expresses  that  shall  from  time  to  time  pass  the  bridge 
for  our  or  their  service." 

The  bridge  was  constructed  the  same  year  about  where 
the  present  Broadway  bridge  crosses  the  creek.  It  was 
twenty-four  feet  wide,  with  a  gate  at  one  end  to  prevent  the 
passage  of  travellers  or  cattle  without  the  payment  of  "toles." 
It  was  also  fitted  with  a  draw  to  allow  of  the  passage  of  boats. 
Upon  petition  of  Frederick  Philipse,  Second  (through  his 
guardians),  in  17 13,  the  Assembly  authorized  the  removal 
of  the  bridge  to  the  present  site,  because  at  high  tides  the 


188 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


causeway  leading  to  the  bridge  from  the  Manhattan  side, 
and  sometimes  the  bridge  itself,  were  overflowed  by  the  waters 
of  the  creek,  thus  rendering  the  passage  over  the  bridge 
dangerous  and  often  impossible.  It  remained  in  the  pos- 
session of  and  under  the  control  of  the  manor-lords  until  the 
sequestration  of  the  manor  by  the  State  Assembly,  in  1779, 
on  account  of  the  alleged  treason  and  disloyalty  of  Colonel 
Frederick  Philipse,  the  third  and  last  lord  of  the  manor. 
After  the  forfeiture  of  the  manor,  the  bridge  became  free,  as 
it  virtually  had  been  since  1759. 

Until  the  year  1900,  a  considerable  detour  was  necessary 
to  approach  the  bridge  from  either  side  of  the  creek.  In 
order  to  remedy  this,  the  city  authorities  constructed  a  modern 
steel  bridge  over  the  ancient  "wading  place,"  which  cannot 
be  many  feet  away  from  the  site  of  the  ferry  and  the  bridge 
of  1 693.  This  bridge  is  officially  known  as  the  Spuyten  Duyvil 
Creek  bridge.  It  makes  direct  communication  from  the 
Kingsbridge  Road,  Manhattan,  to  Broadway,  or  the  Albany 
Post-road,  on  the  Borough  side.  The  contract  price  for  the 
bridge  was  $53,607,  but  the  actual  cost  was  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  seventy-five  thousand  dollars,  including  approaches. 
It  was  opened  to  the  public,  May  16,  1900.  During  the 
building  of  the  elevated  portion  of  the  "Subway"  in  the  year 
1904,  it  was  found  necessary  to  remove  the  bridge,  as  the 
piers  were  of  insufficient  size  and  strength  to  support  the  heavy 
superstructure  of  the  railway  tracks.  The  steel  bridge  of 
1900  has,  therefore,  been  replaced  by  the  present  structure. 

Since  the  opening  of  the  ship  canal  in  1895,  there  has  been 
little  or  no  traffic  through  the  stream ;  and  the  creek  has  been 
filled  in  from  the  mouth  of  Tippett's  Brook  to  the  abutments 
on  the  west  side  of  the  bridge  with  the  materials  removed 
from  the  excavation  at  the  Grand  Central  Station.    It  is 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


also  proposed  to  fill  in  the  eastern  side  and  make  a  ball  field 
of  it — if  this  is  done,  the  creek  will  be  a  name  only.  With 
these  changes  going  on,  the  author  fears  that  the  doom  of  the 
ancient  bridge  is  sealed;  and  in  a  few  years,  its  very  site  will 
be  a  matter  of  conjecture.  This  will  be  a  great  pity,  as  there 
is  hardly  any  spot  within  the  city  of  such  historic  interest. 
Over  it  passed  Washington  and  his  beaten  army,  in  1776; 
over  it  they  passed  again  in  1783,  this  time  with  their  faces 
southward;  and  in  colonial  times  it  is  constantly  referred  to 
as  the  main  passage  from  New  York  City  to  the  mainland. 
The  author  has  suggested  that  the  bridge  be  removed,  abut- 
ments and  all,  to  Van  Cortlandt  Park,  and  there  erected  over 
Tippett's  Brook,  or  upon  the  land;  in  either  case,  it  can  be 
properly  cared  for.  Where  it  once  stood,  there  should  be 
placed  an  appropriate  monument  with  an  historic  legend, 
stating  briefly  the  history  of  the  bridge  that  once  occupied 
the  site.  Unless  something  is  done  very  soon,  the  whole 
bridge  will  have  disappeared  and  it  will  be  too  late ;  and  there 
will  be  no  excuse  for  the  loss  of  this  historic  relic,  as  the  city 
owns  it  and  its  site. 

Near  the  northern  approach  to  the  bridge,  the  manor-lord 
maintained  a  tavern  for  the  accommodation  of  travellers. 
In  his  novel  of  Satanstoe,  Cooper  makes  the  hero,  Corney 
Littlepage,  and  his  friend,  Dirck  Follock,  stop  at  the  tavern 
for  meals  on  several  occasions  when  they  passed  between 
Westchester  and  the  city,  about  1 755-1 760;  Cooper  calls  the 
landlady,  Mrs.  Lighte.  From  the  bridge,  the  whole  section 
took  the  name  of  Kingsbridge  from  early  times,  a  name  which 
it  retains  to-day,  and  one  which,  it  is  hoped,  it  will  long 
retain  to  keep  alive  the  ancient  associations  of  the  locality. 

It  can  be  readily  believed  that  the  King's  bridge  with  its 
exaction  of  tolls  was  not  a  popular  institution  with  those  that 


190 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


were  obliged  to  use  it;  especially  with  the  farmers  of  the 
neighborhood,  who  found  the  growing  city  a  good  market 
for  their  wood,  vegetables,  poultry,  and  other  farm  products, 
or  with  the  belated  traveller  who  was  compelled  to  arouse  the 
drowsy  keeper  of  the  toll-gate.  The  agitation  against  the 
bridge  culminated  in  1756.  The  French  and  Indian  War  was 
then  in  progress,  and  large  bodies  of  British  troops  were  con- 
stantly in  the  city  of  New  York  on  their  way  to  and  from  the 
scenes  of  war.  Their  commissariat  had  to  be  supplied,  and 
grain  and  forage  for  the  horses;  and  the  Westchester  farmers 
had  a  share  of  this  profitable  trade,  as  well  as  the  farmers  of 
Long  Island  and  New  Jersey.  The  tolls  at  the  bridge  became 
a  heavy  burden  to  them,  and  must  have  been  a  source  of  con- 
siderable revenue  to  Colonel  Philipse. 

Benjamin  Palmer  of  City  Island  headed  the  movement  for 
the  construction  of  a  free  bridge,  and  in  1756,  a  popular 
subscription  was  started.  Enough  having  been  subscribed, 
Palmer  began  the  construction  of  his  bridge  at  the  site  of  the 
original  bridge,  removed  in  17 13,  as  stated  above.  As  the 
northern  end  of  the  bridge  would  thus  have  been  on  the  island 
of  Paparinemo,  its  owner,  Colonel  Philipse,  naturally  objected, 
and  Palmer  was  obliged  to  seek  a  site  farther  down  stream. 
This  he  found  on  the  land  of  Thomas  Vermilye  on  the  Fordham 
side  and  of  Jacob  Dyckman  on  the  Manhattan  side,  both  of 
whom  interested  themselves  with  Palmer  in  building  the 
bridge.  Colonel  Philipse,  of  course,  resented  this  attempt 
to  deprive  him  of  his  tolls,  and  twice  caused  Palmer  to  be 
impressed  as  a  soldier  for  service  in  Canada;  an  action  which 
put  Palmer  to  considerable  expense  in  furnishing  a  substitute 
on  both  occasions,  besides  delaying  the  completion  of  the 
bridge.  The  movement,  however,  was  a  popular  one;  and 
despite  delays  and  opposition,  the  bridge  was  ready  for  use 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


191 


at  the  end  of  1758.  On  New  Year's  Day,  1759,  hundreds  of 
people  from  the  surrounding  country  and  from  Manhattan 
Island  attended  a  great  barbecue  to  celebrate  the  opening  of 
the  "Free  Bridge,"  which  was  accomplished  amid  great  re- 
joicings. The  toll  bridge  fell  into  disuse,  the  gatekeeper  gave 
up  his  position,  and  Colonel  Philipse  had  to  advertise  for  a 
new  lease;  from  this  time  forth,  it  was  virtually  a  free  bridge 
also. 

Dyckman  erected  a  tavern  on  the  Manhattan  side  of  the 
bridge,  but  failed  soon  afterward,  the  tavern  passing  into 
the  hands  of  the  Hyatts,  father  and  son,  and  becoming  famous 
in  Revolutionary  annals,  where  it  is  frequently  mentioned. 
Dyckman  asked  relief  from  the  Legislature  for  the  expense 
and  disbursements  he  had  been  under  in  the  construction  of 
the  bridge,  but  was  not  successful.  Palmer,  at  the  end  of  the 
century,  also  made  unsuccessful  appeals  to  the  Legislature  for 
his  outlay.  The  press  took  up  his  cause  and  stated  that  he 
had  struck  the  first  blow  for  American  freedom  in  this  State, 
"for  it  was  almost  as  difficult  for  Mr.  Palmer  to  get  a  free 
bridge  in  those  days  as  it  was  for  America  to  get  her  freedom." 
Aaron  Burr  and  others  finally  subscribed  a  purse  of  £30  to 
relieve  the  necessities  of  the  old  man. 

A  road  was  built  from  the  Westchester  end  of  the  bridge, 
connecting  with  the  Albany  and  Boston  post-roads.  The 
bridge  was  equally  known  as  "Dyckman's  Bridge,"  the  "Free 
Bridge,"  and  the  "Farmers'  Bridge."  It  is  known  to-day 
in  the  vicinity  as  "Hadley's  Bridge,"  probably  from  the  fact 
that  this  portion  of  the  ancient  manor  of  Philipsburgh  was 
bought  from  the  Commissioners  of  Forfeiture  in  1785  by 
George  Hadley,  and  occupied  by  him.  The  site  of  the  present 
Farmers'  Bridge  is  identical  with  that  of  the  original  bridge, 
which  appears  on  one  military  map  of  the  Revolution  under 


192 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


the  name  of  the  "Queen's  Bridge";  though  it  was  destroyed 
at  the  time  of  the  British  occupation  and  not  rebuilt  until 
after  the  war.  In  the  summer  of  191 1,  the  old  bridge  and 
its  approaches  were  demolished,  and  an  overhead  steel  struc- 
ture took  their  places.  The  tracks  of  the  Putnam  division 
of  the  Central  road  pass  under  the  new  structure,  as  well  as 
the  former  tracks  of  the  New  York  Central  itself,  which,  as 
far  as  the  Kingsbridge  station,  are  used  as  freight  sidings. 
The  easterly  end  of  the  new  bridge  conforms  with  the  grade 
of  the  Kingsbridge  road  on  the  Bronx  side ;  on  the  Manhattan 
side,  the  former  causeway  is  filled  in  and  the  grade  of  the  new 
street,  called  Muscoota  Street,  conforms  at  its  western  end 
with  the  grade  of  Broadway.  Some  steps  should  be  taken 
to  mark  the  site  and  historic  associations  of  the  old  bridge, 
which  was  the  first  attempt  of  the  common  people  of  the 
eighteenth  century  to  overthrow,  or  combat,  the  privileges 
of  the  upper  class — a  first  step  toward  democracy. 

After  the  removal  of  the  ferry  from  Harlem  in  1669,  nothing 
seems  to  have  been  done  in  the  way  of  providing  a  means  of 
crossing  the  Harlem  River  near  its  eastern  end  until  March  19, 
1774,  when  the  Assembly  passed  "An  Act  to  enable  Lewis 
Morris  and  John  Sickles  to  build  a  Bridge  across  Harlem 
River."  The  fact  that  the  Revolution  ensued  so  soon  after- 
ward probably  prevented  the  accomplishment  of  the  work 
by  the  manor-lord  of  Morrisania  and  the  inhabitant  of  Harlem 
who  was  to  take  care  of  his  end  of  the  bridge  and  its  approaches. 
In  a  communication  from  Governor  Nicolls  in  1666,  mention 
is  made  of  "a  passage  which  hath  been  made  to  ford  over 
from  this  island  to  the  maine."  By  "this  island"  is  meant 
Verchers,  or  Hogg,  Island,  later  Montressor's,  now  Randall's. 
The  ford,  or  passage,  was  through  the  Bronx  Kills.  Verveelen's 
original  ferry  may  have  passed  over  or  near  this  route. 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


193 


In  1790,  Lewis  Morris  obtained  from  the  State  Legislature 
a  franchise  to  build  a  dam  bridge  from  Harlem  to  Morrisania. 
This  franchise  he  assigned  to  John  B.  Coles,  who,  in  1795, 
received  from  the  Legislature  an  extension  of  the  privileges 
already  granted,  which  allowed  him  to  build  a  stone  dam 
across  the  river  as  a  foundation  for  his  bridge,  which  should 
hold  back  the  waters  of  the  Harlem  and  furnish  power  for 
mills  to  be  established  along  its  banks.  The  navigation  of 
the  stream  was  not  to  be  interrupted,  however,  and  a  suitable 
opening,  attended  by  a  lock-keeper,  was  to  be  left  for  the 
passage  of  vessels.  The  bridge  was  to  be  constructed  within 
four  years,  and  Coles  and  his  assigns  were  to  collect  the  tolls 
for  sixty  years,  provided  they  kept  the  bridge  in  repair;  at 
the  expiration  of  that  period  the  bridge  was  to  vest  in  the 
State. 

By  the  act  of  1790,  Lewis  Morris  was  authorized  to  appoint 
three  commissioners  to  act  as  a  highway  commission  to  lay 
out  a  road  from  the  proposed  bridge  through  Morrisania, 
West  Farms,  and  Eastchester,  and  at  the  last  named  place 
to  connect  with  the  main  road  to  Boston.  Morris  was  to 
pay  the  commissioners,  but  the  cost  of  the  condemnation  pro- 
ceedings and  of  the  road  was  to  be  paid  by  the  towns  through 
which  it  was  to  pass.  The  highway  commission  of  the  city  of 
New  York  was  also  authorized  to  lay  out  a  road  on  Manhattan 
Island  to  the  Harlem  end  of  the  bridge.  The  road  through 
Westchester  County  was  to  be  four  rods  wide,  a  width  which, 
before  the  Revolution,  would  have  given  it  the  name  of  the 
"King's  highway,"  that  being  the  legal  width  of  a  post-road 
in  England  or  the  colonies.  The  route  selected  by  the  com- 
mission led  from  the  bridge  via  the  present  Third  Avenue  to 
about  East  163d  Street,  thence  eastwardly  down  a  hill  across 
Mill  Brook  (Brook  Avenue),  and  thence  northerly  through 


194 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Boston  Avenue,  which  it  followed  to  West  Farms,  crossing 
the  Bronx  River  at  the  "  Bleach"  below  Bronxdale,  and  con- 
tinuing through  Eastchester  and  Pelham  till  it  joined  at  New 
Rochelle  the  ancient  Boston  Road,  which  came  from  Kings- 
-  bridge  via  Williamsbridge. 

Difficulties  arose  with  the  property  owners  whose  land  was 
taken  for  the  road,  as  they  were  not  promptly  paid;  notwith- 
standing which,  the  Legislature  of  1797  declared  the  road  a 
public  highway  and  directed  Coles  to  finish  it  at  his  own 
expense,  at  the  same  time  authorizing  him,  for  a  period  of 
thirty  years,  to  increase  the  bridge  tolls,  not  to  exceed  fifty 
per  cent,  of  those  already  prescribed  by  previous  statutes. 
This  was  to  reimburse  him  for  his  additional  outlay  in  com- 
pleting the  road;  but  he  was  to  keep  it  in  repair  during  that 
time.  In  the  following  year,  1798,  he  was  relieved  of  this 
last  condition  and  his  increase  of  bridge  tolls  cut  down  to  a 
twenty-five  per  cent,  advance.  This  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  State  had  partially  paid  for  the  construction  of  the  road 
under  the  act  of  1797,  which  empowered  the  State  to  aid  in  the 
improvement  of  public  roads;  the  money  was  obtained  by  a 
public  lottery.  It  was  just  about  a  century  later  that  the 
wheelmen,  the  good  roads  associations,  and  drivers  generally 
succeeded  in  getting  the  State  once  more  to  give  aid  to  the 
counties  and  towns  in  constructing  and  grading  the  public 
highways;  a  law  whose  benefit  is  seen  in  the  fine  highways 
that  are  gradually  but  steadily  appearing  in  all  sections  of 
the  State  under  the  guidance  of  competent  engineers  and  road- 
builders,  instead  of  that  of  the  rural  road-master.  This  im- 
provement in  road-building  has  affected  the  Coles  road;  for 
in  the  fall  of  191 1  work  was  begun  to  widen  the  more  than 
century-old  road  and  make  it  a  State  road.  Work  is  progres- 
sing from  Pelham  Parkway  northward  as  this  is  written. 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


195 


The  rates  of  toll  as  authorized  by  the  Legislature  for  the 
use  of  the  bridge  were  as  follows: 

Every  four-wheeled  pleasure  carriage  and  horses.  37^  cents 
"    two- wheeled  pleasure  carriage  and  horses  .  19 
"    pleasure  sleigh  and  horses        .        .  .19 
"    common  wagon  and  horses      .        .        .  12}^ 
"    common  sled.         .....  123/2 

Ox  cart  and  oxen    ......  \2x/2 

Every  one-horse  cart  and  horse        .        .  .9 
"    man  and  horse       .        .        .        .  .9 

"    ox,  cow,  or  steer     .        .        .        .        .1  cent 

4 4    dozen  hogs,  sheep,  or  calves,  and  so  in  pro- 
portion for  a  greater  or  less  number      .    6  cents 
For  every  foot  passenger  .        .        .        .  .3 

State  and  United  States  troops,  with  their  artillery,  car- 
riages, and  stores  were  to  have  free  passage. 

The  new  road  through  Westchester  County,  and  that  built 
on  the  island  of  Manhattan  to  meet  it  diverted  travel  from 
the  King's  and  Farmers'  bridges  at  Spuyten  Duyvil,  as  the 
course  to  and  from  East  Chester  for  eastern  travel  was  much 
shorter  and  more  direct  by  the  new  bridge  and  road.  The 
bridge  was  so  well  patronized  and  was  so  financially  successful 
that  we  find  the  owners  petitioning  the  Legislature  in  1808 
for  incorporation  as  the  Harlem  Bridge  Company,  a  petition 
that  was  granted.  Before  the  expiration  of  the  sixty  years 
for  which  the  franchise  was  given  originally,  Morrisania  and 
Harlem  had  grown  apace,  and  the  bridge  was  inadequate  for 
the  amount  of  traffic  that  passed  over  it,  and  the  lock  too  small 
for  the  accommodation  of  passing  vessels.  Still,  strenuous 
efforts  were  made  by  the  company  for  the  renewal  of  its 
charter  as  1858  approached.  The  Legislature  took  the  matter 
in  hand,  and  after  reciting  the  fact  that  the  bridge  would 


196 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


become  free  on  April  1,  1858,  empowered  the  counties  of  New 
York  and  Westchester  to  provide  for  its  maintenance  or  to 
build  a  new  bridge.  In  June,  i860,  W.  H.  McAlpine  was 
appointed  engineer,  and  plans  were  devised  for  building  a 
new  bridge  with  an  iron  draw  and  stone  piers  at  a  cost  of 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  while  better  facilities  were 
planned  for  the  convenience  of  passing  vessels. 

This  second  Third  Avenue,  or  Harlem,  Bridge,  as  it  was 
commonly  called,  was  built  of  cast  iron.  The  piers,  instead  of 
being  of  stone  as  originally  planned,  were  iron  cylinders  which 
were  sunk  to  their  proper  places  and  filled  with  ballast.  The 
whole  structure,  especially  the  piers,  was  considered  at  that 
time  a  most  remarkable  piece  of  engineering,  and  as  a  great 
and  ingenious  advance  in  bridge-building.  The  wooden  draw 
of  the  old  Coles  bridge  was  towed  to  City  Island,  where  it 
did  duty  as  the  draw  of  the  old  wooden  bridge  there  until 
its  demolition  in  1902. 

Many  New  Yorkers  can  remember  how  wholly  inadequate 
this  second  Harlem  Bridge  became  when  the  trolley  lines 
began  crossing  it  to  their  terminus  at  128th  Street  and  Third 
Avenue.  To  meet  the  new  requirements,  the  city  authorities, 
on  July  14,  1886,  contracted  with  a  bridge-building  firm  of 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  for  the  construction  of  the  present 
steel  and  iron  structure,  with  its  enormous  draw  of  three 
hundred  feet,  at  a  cost  of  two  million  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  The  opening  of  the  Harlem  ship  canal,  and  the  in- 
crease in  building  in  the  Annexed  District,  due  to  the  elevated 
railroad,  necessitating  an  increase  in  docking  facilities  to 
handle  building  materials,  were  also  potent  factors  in  deter- 
mining the  erection  of  the  new  bridge. 

Work  was  not  begun,  however,  until  November  14,  1893. 
The  bridge  was  opened  to  the  public  on  August  1,  1898,  and 


The  First  Harlem  Bridge,  N.  Y.,  i860. 
From  Valentine's  Manual 


The  Second  Harlem,  or  Third  Avenue  Bridge.    Made  of  Cast-iron,  i860 
Courtesy  of  the  Department  of  Bridges,  New  York  City. 


Kingsbridge 


From  an  old  print  in  the  Collection  of  J.  Clarence  Davies,  Esq. 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


197 


accepted  by  the  city  on  August  21,  1899.  The  cost  to  the  city 
of  this  third  Harlem  Bridge  was  #2,794,000.  While  the  bridge 
was  in  course  of  construction,  passage  across  the  river  was 
secured  by  a  temporary  wooden  structure  whose  inadequacy 
was  the  cause  of  ruined  tempers,  prolonged  delays,  and  infinite 
profanity. 

When  the  forfeited  manor  of  Philipseburgh  was  sold  in 
1785,  the  Paparinemo  tract  went,  in  joint  tenancy,  to  Joseph 
Cook,  inn-keeper,  and  Daniel  Birkins  and  Abraham  Lent,  Jr., 
of  Dutchess  County.  It  afterwards  went  through  several 
hands  till  about  1798,  when  it  came  into  possession  of  Alexander 
Macomb,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  New  York  City.  During 
the  various  ownerships,  the  inn  was  kept  open,  and  accommo- 
dations were  furnished  for  man  and  beast.  Macomb  continued 
his  purchases  for  several  years,  until  he  owned  from  Van 
Cortlandt's  to  the  creek,  and  from  the  Albany  Post-road  to 
Tippett's  Brook,  mostly  salt  meadow  and  comprising  about 
one  hundred  acres.1  In  December,  1800,  he  received  a  water 
grant  from  the  Mayor  and  Commonalty  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  at  an  annual  rental  of  twelve  and  one  half  dollars,  to 
the  water  in  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek  at  low-water  mark,  ex- 
tending from  the  bridge,  one  hundred  feet  on  each  shore  to  the 
westward  of  it ;  with  the  proviso  that  a  passageway  fifteen  feet 
wide  should  be  left  for  small  boats,  a  condition  that  seems  to 
have  been  ignored  by  the  lessee,  though  the  city  officials  re- 
served the  right  to  repossess  in  the  event  of  its  violation — 
the  lessee  probably  had  a  ''pull."  Macomb  erected  a  four- 
story  grist-mill  on  the  Borough  side,  extending  over  the  edge 
of  the  creek,  whose  alternate  ebb  and  flow  turned  the  mill 

1  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  he  also  purchased  from  the  State  three 
and  a  half  millions  of  acres  of  land  at  8d  an  acre.  This  tract  included  the 
Adirondacks,  which,  for  many  years,  were  known  as"  Macomb's  Mountains, 
after  their  owner. 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx: 


wheel.  In  1855,  the  mill  was  declared  a  public  nuisance  and 
danger,  as  it  had  long  been  untenanted.  Steps  were  taken  to 
repair  it  and  convert  it  into  a  hotel ;  but  a  heavy  wind  storm 
blew  it  down  either  in  that  year  or  the  next  (1856),  and  saved 
the  authorities  further  trouble.  Macomb's  ventures  proved 
to  be  unprofitable,  and  his  property  was  sold  under  foreclosure 
in  1 8 10  and  bought  in  by  his  son  Robert. 

The  experience  at  Kingsbridge  had  shown  that  sufficient 
power  could  not  be  obtained  by  the  means  employed;  and  so, 
in  1 8 13,  upon  petition  to  the  Legislature,  Robert  Macomb 
was  granted  permission  to  erect  a  dam  across  the  Harlem 
River  from  Bussing's  Point,  Manhattan,  to  Devee's  Point 
in  Westchester,  thus  making  of  the  Harlem  River  and  Spuyten 
Duyvil  Creek  a  large  mill-pond  to  furnish  power  for  milling 
purposes.  A  causeway  and  bridge  were  erected  at  great 
expense;  they  were  known  until  about  i860  as  Macomb's 
Dam.  The  gates  of  the  dam  admitted  the  inflow  of  the  flood 
tide  from  the  East  River,  but  were  closed  to  prevent  its  outflow 
on  the  ebb ;  a  raceway  on  the  Westchester  side  conducted  the 
water  to  the  mill  wheels  by  emptying  it  into  Spuyten  Duyvil 
Creek  at  low  tide,  whose  inflow  on  the  flood  tide  was  checked 
by  the  dam  at  Kingsbridge. 

This  scheme  worked  no  more  successfully  than  the  preced- 
ing one;  and  Robert  Macomb,  becoming  involved  financially, 
was  sold  out  by  the  sheriff,  and  the  property  passed  into  other 
hands  and  the  franchises  with  it.  In  1828,  the  owners  were 
the  New  York  Hydraulic  and  Bridge  Company,  who  put  forth 
an  elaborate  plan  for  mill  sites  and  a  manufacturing  village, 
based  upon  a  report  made  by  three  of  the  leading  engineers 
of  the  country.  This  plan  proposed  to  dam  Tippett's  Brook 
and  flood  the  greater  part  of  the  Paparinemo  meadows,  the 
water  being  allowed  to  run  into  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek  at 


Second  Macomb's  Dam  Bridge,  1861. 

Courtesy  of  the  Department  of  Bridges,  New  York  City. 


The  Present,  or  Third,  Macomb's  Dam  Bridge,  also  Called  Central  Bridge. 

Courtesy  of  the  Department  of  Bridges,  New  York  City. 


High  Bridge. 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


199 


low  tide  through  raceways  which  would  lead  to  the  various 
mills.  "Fourteen  mill  sites,"  said  the  prospectus,  "each  fifty 
by  one  hundred  feet,  were  mapped  out  along  the  raceways, 
and  at  least  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  horse  power  were 
assured  to  them."  But  this  plan  was  no  more  successful  than 
the  previous  ones. 

In  the  grant  made  to  Robert  Macomb,  in  18 13,  it  was 
stipulated  that  he  was  to  have  a  lock,  apron,  or  other  opening 
in  his  dam  to  permit  of  the  passage  of  small  craft  or  boats,  and 
to  have  a  lock-keeper  in  attendance  to  open  the  lock  and  assist 
the  boats  through.  He  also  received  from  the  city  the  tri- 
angular piece  of  land  between  Seventh  Avenue  and  the  ap- 
proach to  Central  Bridge,  now  a  small,  public  park;  on  the 
Borough  side,  he  also  received  valuable  concessions.  The 
annual  quit-rent  to  be  paid  to  the  city  was  the  same  as  for 
the  Kingsbridge  grant,  twelve  and  one  half  dollars  yearly. 
The  line  of  Jerome  Avenue  near  the  river  is  due  to  the  road 
laid  out  by  the  bridge  owners  as  an  approach  to  the  northerly 
end  of  their  bridge. 

The  collection  of  tolls  upon  the  bridge  was  unauthorized  by 
any  act  of  the  Legislature  or  of  the  city  government ;  and  this, 
with  the  obstruction  to  the  navigation  of  the  river  due  to  the 
failure  to  keep  a  sufficient  passageway  through  the  dam, 
aroused  the  ire  of  the  inhabitants  of  Kingsbridge,  Morrisanie , 
Fordham,  and  Westchester,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Manhattan 
side  of  the  river.  The  leading  citizens,  after  several  years  of 
that  quiet  and  patient  submission  to  impositions  so  distinc- 
tively one  of  our  American  traits,  determined  that  at  least  the 
construction  of  the  dam  should  be  changed  so  as  to  allow  a 
free  and  unobstructed  navigation  of  the  river.  Meetings  were 
held,  legal  advisers  engaged,  and  money  subscribed. 

The  agitation  came  to  a  head  in  1838;  and  Lewis  G.  Morris, 


200 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


then  a  young  man,  was  chosen  as  the  leader  of  the  enterprise. 
The  intention  was  to  bring  the  matter  into  the  United  States 
courts  and  to  show  that  neither  the  State  nor  the  city  had  any 
power  to  grant  the  privileges  secured  by  Macomb  and  his 
successors  in  the  obstruction  of  a  navigable  stream,  a  power 
vested  in  the  United  States  alone;  and  there  was  sufficient 
evidence  to  prove  that  the  Harlem  River  had  been  a  navigable 
stream  from  time  immemorial. 

In  furtherance  of  the  plan,  Morris  Dock  was  built  about  a 
mile  above  the  site  of  the  present  High  Bridge,  and  a  periauger, 
named  the  Nonpareil,  was  chartered  to  take  a  cargo  of  coal  for 
delivery  at  the  dock.  On  the  evening  of  September  fourteenth, 
Mr.  Morris  arrived  with  his  cargo  of  coal  at  the  dam  at  full 
tide  and  demanded  a  passage  up  stream.  The  bridge- 
keeper  could  not  comply  with  the  demand  to  open  the  lock, 
as  none  was  provided.  A  party  of  nearly  a  hundred  men 
accompanied  the  periauger  on  flatboats ;  and  upon  the  refusal 
of  the  bridge-tender  to  let  the  boat  pass,  they  forcibly  removed 
a  sufficient  length  of  the  dam  to  allow  the  Nonpareil  to  float 
across.  From  that  time  forth  a  draw  was  always  kept  in  the 
bridge  and  an  opening  in  the  dam ;  but  the  latter  was  so  insuf- 
ficient that  the  tides  swept  through  with  such  fearful  rapidity 
as  to  make  it  impossible  for  boats  to  pass  through  except  at 
slack  water. 

The  owners  of  the  bridge  and  dam  at  this  time  were  the 
Renwicks,  and  they  at  first  attempted  to  have  Morris  indicted 
as  a  disturber  of  the  public  peace ;  but  the  recorder  and  district 
attorney  both  said  that  Morris  had  a  right  to  demand  passage 
for  his  vessel,  and  refused  to  allow  the  grand  jury  to  consider 
the  matter.  Suit  for  damages  was  then  brought  against 
Morris  in  the  Superior  Court,  but  the  judge  charged  the  jury 
that  the  dam  as  constructed  was  a  public  nuisance,  and  that 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


201 


any  one  had  a  right  to  abate  it.  An  appeal  to  the  Supreme 
Court  was  decided  likewise,  and,  finally,  the  Court  of  Errors, 
on  an  appeal  to  them,  affirmed  the  decisions  of  the  lower  courts. 
Chancellor  Walworth,  who  wrote  the  opinion,  said,  among 
other  things: 

"The  Harlem  River  is  an  arm  of  the  sea  and  a  public 
navigable  river;  it  was  a  public  nuisance  to  obstruct  the 
navigation  thereof  without  authority  of  law.  The  act  of 
the  Legislature  did  not  authorize  the  obstruction  of  the  navi- 
gation of  the  river  in  the  manner  in  which  it  was  done  by  the 
dam  in  question." 

The  Renwicks  were  obliged  to  be  satisfied  with  this  decision 
of  the  highest  court  of  the  State  and  did  not  carry  the  matter 
to  the  Federal  courts. 

April  16,  1858,  the  Legislature  directed  the  city  of  New  York 
and  the  county  of  Westchester  to  erect  and  maintain  a  free 
bridge  across  the  Harlem  River  from  a  point  near  the  end  of 
Eighth  Avenue,  Manhattan,  to  a  point  at  or  near  the  terminus 
of  the  Macomb's  Dam  road  in  the  county  of  Westchester. 
The  commission  appointed  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of 
the  above  act  were  also  directed  to  remove  the  dam  and  ob- 
structions in  the  river,  and  to  make  it  navigable  to  its  natural 
capacity.  They  paid  to  the  Campbell  estate,  then  the  owner 
of  the  dam  and  bridge,  the  sum  of  $18,000  for  all  property 
and  rights,  including  the  approaches  to  the  bridge  on  both 
sides  of  the  river,  and  the  privilege  of  using  the  waters  of  the 
Harlem.  In  1861,  the  wooden  bridge  was  completed  and 
thrown  open  to  the  public.  The  expense  to  the  city  and 
county,  though  in  the  original  bill  limited  to  ten  thousand 
dollars  each,  finally  amounted  to  over  ninety  thousand  dollars. 1 

1  How  strange  it  is  that  public  work  can  never  be  done  for  the  estimated 
cost,  or  for  the  contract  price,  or  within  the  prescribed  time!    It  is  not 


202 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


In  the  course  of  a  quarter  of  a  century,  this  second  bridge 
outlived  its  usefulness,  and  steps  were  taken  to  replace  it. 
The  present  magnificent  structure  is  the  result,  at  a  cost  of 
$1,360,000.  It  was  opened  to  the  public  in  1896.  It  occupies 
the  sites  of  the  two  former  bridges  and  has  been  a  favorite 
route  with  wheelmen  and  drivers  seeking  the  country  above 
the  Harlem,  and  automobiles  are  now  taking  their  turn  in 
using  the  bridge.  The  Speedway  has  diverted  the  drivers  of 
horses  from  the  bridge,  and  the  traffic  of  trolley  cars  upon  the 
bridge,  which  was  clear  of  them  until  October  1,  1904,  has 
made  its  passage  more  hazardous.  The  present  name  of  Cen- 
tral Bridge,  which  is  its  official  title,  will,  no  doubt,  soon 
drive  that  of  "Macomb's  Dam  Bridge"  into  the  legendary 
past. 

The  obstruction  to  the  navigation  of  the  Harlem  River 
had  come  to  be  considered  as  a  matter  of  course,  with  the 
precedents  of  the  Coles  and  Macomb  dams  and  bridges,  so 
that  when  the  various  plans  were  advanced  at  different  times, 
for  supplying  the  city  of  New  York  with  water,  the  engineers 
ignored  the  free  and  open  passage  of  that  stream.  The 
earliest  of  these  plans  proposed  taking  the  water  from  the 
Bronx  River  by  damming  it  near  Williamsbridge  and  conduct- 
ing the  water  by  a  cast-iron  cylinder  two  feet  in  diameter 
under  the  Harlem  River,  but  lying  on  its  bed.  Later,  1834- 
35,  when  the  Croton  River  had  been  selected  as  the  source  of 
the  city's  water  supply,  it  was  proposed  to  siphon  the  water 
across  the  Harlem  on  a  low  bridge  without  regard  to  its  navi- 
gation. One  plan  in  connection  with  the  supply  from  the 
Bronx  River  proposed  using  the  tidal  power  of  the  Harlem 

so  with  private  work.  If  the  employees  of  a  private  individual  were  as  lax 
in  looking  after  his  interests  as  public  officials  are  in  looking  after  those 
of  the  community,  they  would  not  hold  their  positions  a  day. 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


203 


by  locating  a  pumping  station  above  Macomb's  dam  in  order 
to  give  the  water  a  sufficient  head  to  carry  it  into  the  homes 
of  the  city. 

But  the  action  of  Lewis  G.  Morris  and  his  associates  with 
regard  to  Macomb's  dam,  as  described  above,  put  an  entirely 
new  idea  of  the  navigable  character  of  the  river,  not  only  into 
the  heads  of  the  engineers  and  the  authorities,  but  into  those 
of  the  general  public  as  well.  The  decision  of  the  highest 
court  in  the  State  put  a  legal  barrier  to  the  stream's  obstruction 
that  no  one  could  surmount.  Accordingly,  when  the  Croton 
aqueduct  was  under  way,  the  Legislature,  on  May  3,  1839, 
enacted  that:  "The  water  commissioners  shall  construct  an 
aqueduct  over  the  Harlem  River  with  arches  and  piers; 
the  arches  in  the  channel  of  said  river  shall  be  at  least  eighty 
feet  span,  and  not  less  than  one  hundred  feet  from  the  usual 
high- water  mark  of  the  river  to  the  under  side  of  the  arches  of 
the  crown;  or  they  can  carry  the  water  across  the  river  by  a 
tunnel  under  the  channel  of  the  river,  the  top  of  which  shall 
not  be  above  the  present  bed  of  the  said  river." 

This  at  once  changed  the  idea  of  a  low  siphon  bridge, 
"built  over  an  embankment  of  stone,  rilling  up  the  whole  of 
the  natural  channel,  and  with  only  one  archway  on  the  New 
York  side  eighty  feet  high,"  to  the  plan  of  a  high  bridge, 
crossing  the  stream;  as  the  engineers  and  commissioners 
preferred  the  bridge  to  the  other  alternative  presented  by  the 
Legislature,  that  of  the  tunnel.  The  bridge  was  contracted 
for  the  following  August,  and  was  sufficiently  completed  in 
time  for  the  admission  of  the  Croton  water  into  the  city  on 
July  27,  1842,  though  not  completed  in  accordance  with  the 
original  plan  until  1848. 

High  Bridge  is  1450  feet  long  and  twenty-five  feet  wide, 
connecting  West  175th  Street  and  Tenth  Avenue,  Manhattan, 


204  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 

with  Aqueduct  Avenue  near  East  170th  Street  in  the  Borough. 
The  top  of  the  bridge  forms  a  way  for  foot  passengers,  but  no 
provision  has  ever  been  made  for  vehicular  traffic.  The  bridge 
crosses  the  Harlem  on  fifteen  semicircular  arches,  eight  of 
which  in  the  river  are,  in  accordance  with  the  law,  eighty 
feet  span — the  remaining  seven  are  fifty  feet  span.  The 
water  was  originally  carried  across  in  two  cast-iron  pipes,  each 
three  feet  in  diameter;  but  these  were  found  to  be  inadequate, 
so  between  i860  and  1864,  the  side  walls  of  the  bridge  were 
raised  and  a  wrought-iron  pipe,  seven  feet,  six  inches  in  di- 
ameter, was  laid  over  the  other  two,  all  three  being  incased  in 
brick  masonry.  The  total  cost  to  the  city  was  $963,428. 
When  the  present  aqueduct  was  built,  the  engineers  preferred 
the  alternative  plan  of  1839,  and  so  carried  the  water  through  a 
tunnel  just  north  of  High  Bridge  and  well  under  the  bed  of 
the  river.  The  same  plan  is  to  be  followed  with  the  aqueduct 
now  building,  which  is  to  bring  water  from  the  Catskills. 

The  first  of  the  really  modern  passenger  bridges  to  be  con- 
structed was  that  at  Madison  Avenue,  connecting  that  high- 
way of  Manhattan  with  East  138th  Street  in  the  Borough. 
The  first  bridge  was  completed  and  opened  to  the  public  in 
1884,  at  a  cost  of  $404,000.  In  its  construction,  a  new  plan 
was  employed  of  elevating  it  well  above  the  river,  so  that  it 
was  not  necessary  to  open  the  draw  for  every  passing  vessel; 
and  this  plan  has  been  carried  out  with  all  the  later  bridges, 
which  allow  a  still  greater  clearance  above  water.  The 
tugs  plying  upon  the  river  are  fitted  with  short  smoke  pipes; 
in  consequence,  traffic  is  not  delayed  and  blocked  so  frequently, 
as  it  is  necessary  to  open  the  draws  only  for  masted  vessels. 
In  addition,  the  draws  are  opened  only  between  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning  and  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  in  order  to 
prevent  delay  to  the  thousands  of  passengers,  on  their  way 


/ 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


205 


to  and  from  their  day's  work,  in  the  trains  over  the  Park 
Avenue  railroad  and  other  bridges. 

Before  the  bridge  was  twenty  years  old,  it  was  found  to  be 
entirely  inadequate  for  the  trolley  and  vehicular  traffic  which 
used  it,  the  trolley  cars  of  the  Madison  Avenue  line  having 
begun  to  use  it  in  1899,  replacing  the  horse  cars  which  had 
used  the  bridge  since  1886.  Then  came  the  cars  of  the  Union 
Railway  Company;  and  as  the  roadway  was  only  twenty-one 
feet  four  inches  wide,  there  were  great  congestion  and  delay. 
Plans  for  a  new  bridge  were  made  in  1906,  and  the  contract 
was  signed  on  October  8,  1907,  the  price  being  $1,155,987. 
A  temporary  pier  was  built  in  the  river  and  the  bridge  was 
raised  on  scows  at  high  water  and  floated  to  the  new  location 
where  it  was  lowered  into  place  with  the  fall  of  the  tide.  Work 
was  then  begun  upon  the  new  bridge  and  its  approaches, 
which  were  completed  and  opened  with  speeches  and  salutes 
on  July  18,  1910. 

The  next  bridge  to  be  constructed  was  the  Washington 
Bridge,  which  may  be  considered  the  glory  of  the  Harlem 
River.  It  connects  West  181st  Street,  Manhattan,  with 
Aqueduct  Avenue  near  East  17 1st  Street  in  the  Borough.  The 
bridge  was  authorized  by  the  Legislature  of  1885,  and  work 
was  begun  the  following  year.  The  original  engineer  was 
W.  H.  McAlpine,  who  had  supervised  the  building  of  the  Third 
Avenue  Bridge  in  the  sixties.  In  August,  1886,  William  R. 
Hutton  became  engineer  and  remained  in  charge  until  the 
completion  of  the  bridge  in  February,  1889.  Though  com- 
pleted at  that  time,  the  ends  of  the  bridge  were  barricaded 
until  December  of  the  same  year,  when  the  public  took  matters 
into  their  own  hands,  tore  down  the  barricades,  and  began 
using  the  bridge.  Consequently,  there  was  no  formal  opening 
of  the  structure;  in  fact,  for  a  long  time  after  it  was  used, 


206 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


signs  were  displayed,  notifying  all  persons  who  used  the  bridge 
that  they  did  so  at  their  own  risk,  and  that  the  city  would  not 
be  liable  for  damages  for  any  accident  that  might  occur. 

The  bridge  is  of  steel  and  masonry  and  is  2375  feet  long. 
Its  termini  are  on  the  heights  commanding  the  river,  that 
on  the  Borough  side  being  on  the  Fordham  ridge.  It  crosses 
the  river  in  two  mighty  steel  arches,  each  510  feet  long,  the 
crowns  being  133K  feet  above  mean  high  water,  so  that  they 
are  about  eighteen  feet  above  the  arches  of  High  Bridge. 
The  width  is  eighty  feet,  distributed  in  two  foot-pathways 
and  a  fine  asphalted  roadway,  upon  which  no  cars  were  run 
until  May  31,  1906.  When  wheeling  was  popular,  it  was  a 
favorite  ride  for  wheelmen,  and  thousands  passed  over  the 
bridge  daily.  The  view  from  the  top  is  magnificent,  taking 
in,  as  it  does,  almost  the  whole  length  of  the  river,  both  north 
and  south ;  the  bridge  itself  being  placed  at  the  most  beautiful 
and  picturesque  part  of  the  stream.  The  entire  cost  of  the 
bridge  to  the  city  was  #2,851,684.55. 

The  Willis  Avenue  Bridge  connects  East  125th  Street  at 
First  Avenue,  Manhattan,  with  East  134th  Street  and  Willis 
Avenue,  The  Bronx.  The  contract  price  was  #1,373,000  for 
the  bridge,  not  including  approaches.  Work  was  begun 
December  4,  1897,  and  the  bridge  was  opened  to  the  public 
on  August  22,  1901.  This  is  the  most  easterly  of  all  the 
bridges  crossing  the  Harlem  River. 

Work  on  the  Lenox  Avenue  Bridge,  connecting  West  145th 
Street  and  Lenox  Avenue,  Manhattan,  and  East  149th  Street, 
Bronx,  was  begun  in  1898,  and  the  bridge  was  completed  and 
thrown  open  to  the  public  on  August  24,  1905.  The  contract 
price  for  the  bridge  alone  was  #1,002,000. 

The  last  of  the  city  bridges  to  be  constructed  is  the  one 
crossing  the  Harlem  from  West  207th  Street  and  Tenth  Avenue, 


Ferries  and  Bridges 


207 


Manhattan,  to  the  low  ground  at  the  junction  of  Sedgwick 
Avenue  and  Fordham  Road.  Preliminary  surveys  were  made 
as  early  as  1902,  plans  were  drawn  by  the  Department  of 
Bridges,  and  the  contracts  were  let  for  the  superstructure 
April  27,  1905.  The  bridge  cost  #821,000,  and  was  opened  to 
the  public  on  January  8,  1908.  It  is  called  the  University 
Heights  Bridge. 

This  bridge  is  almost  on  the  site  of  a  foot-bridge  erected 
about  1850,  connecting  Dyckman's  meadows  and  Fordham 
Landing.  This  was  built  on  piles  driven  into  the  bed  of  the 
river,  which  was  not  more  than  nine  feet  deep  at  this  point. 
It  was  a  public  bridge,  fitted  with  a  draw  to  allow  of  the 
passage  of  boats,  of  which  the  Harlem  River  steamboats  Tiger 
Lily,  Trumpeter,  and  Osseo  became  the  most  frequent  passers- 
by  after  the  line  was  established  about  1855,  for  the  purpose 
of  keeping  open  the  navigation  of  the  river,  as  well  as  for  the 
conveyance  of  passengers  and  freight.  Their  landing-place 
was  at  an  ancient  stone  house,  called  the  "Century  House," 
a  few  rods  above  on  the  Manhattan  side — this  was  the  old 
Jan  Nagel  house  of  colonial  days.  In  later  days,  the  foot- 
bridge gave  access  to  the  railroad  station  at  Fordham  Landing. 
The  deepening  of  the  channel  of  the  river  and  the  opening  of 
the  ship  canal  caused  the  removal  of  the  old  bridge,  though  a 
few  of  the  piles  which  supported  it,  were  standing  on  the  Man- 
hattan side  less  than  ten  years  ago. 

The  other  bridges  spanning  the  Harlem  River  and  connect- 
ing the  boroughs  of  Manhattan  and  The  Bronx  are  private 
property  belonging  to  the  railroads.  They  are  the  Second 
Avenue,  or  Suburban  Rapid  Transit,  bridge;  the  Harlem,  or 
New  York  Central,  Railroad  bridge  at  Park  Avenue;  the 
Putnam  Railroad  bridge  at  Eighth  Avenue;  and  the  New 
York  Central  Railroad  bridge  at  the  mouth  of  Spuyten  Duyvil 


208 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Creek  at  its  junction  with  the  Hudson  River.  Upon  the 
Second  Avenue  and  the  Putnam  bridges  are  free  public  foot- 
ways, but  no  roadways  for  vehicles. 

For  several  years,  the  only  public  ferry  connecting  the 
Borough  with  any  of  the  other  boroughs  was  the  one  running 
from  Port  Morris,  at  East  138th  Street,  to  North  Beach  and 
College  Point  in  the  borough  of  Queens.  This  was  formerly 
known  as  Bowery  Bay  Beach,  and  it  is  a  great  place  of  resort 
for  people  who  like  the  entertainments  that  are  provided  in  a 
place  of  the  kind.  The  ferry  was  established  in  September, 
1903.  A  ferry,  known  as  the  Twin  City  Ferry,  was  established 
between  Clason's  Point  and  College  Point,  in  April,  1912. 


CHAPTER  X 


EARLY  MEANS  OF  COMMUNICATION 

SLOOPS,  periaugers,  batteaux,  and  canoes  constituted 
the  vehicles  of  communication  in  the  early  days.  As 
in  all  new  countries,  water  was  the  natural  highway; 
and  the  waters  of  the  Sound,  the  Hudson,  and  the  Harlem,  all 
adjacent  to  the  shores  of  the  Borough,  gave  easy  and  con- 
venient access  to  Manhattan  Island  and  to  the  settlers  near  the 
shores.  Westchester  Creek  was  navigable  for  sloops,  and  when 
Captain  de  Connick  and  Fiscal  Van  Tienhoven  went  to  eject 
the  English  settlers  at  Oostdorp,  they  ascended  the  river  and 
creek  in  vessels  of  that  class.  The  Bronx  and  the  Hutchinson 
rivers  were  both  navigable  for  several  miles  in  batteaux 
and  canoes,  the  former  to  West  Farms  and  the  latter  to  East- 
chester.  In  recent  years,  the  Federal  Government  has  deep- 
ened the  channel  of  the  latter  so  that  heavily  laden  coal 
vessels  and  small  steamers  are  able  to  ascend  at  high  tide  as 
far  as  the  City  Dock  at  Mount  Vernon,  contiguous  to  old 
St.  Paul's  Church,  and  just  over  the  boundary  line  of  the 
Borough. 

From  time  immemorial,  and  even  up  to  the  present  gener- 
ation, a  regular  sloop  trade  was  carried  on  from  Westchester 
borough-town  to  New  York  City.  In  the  advertisement  of 
the  Reverend  Samuel  Seabury,  mentioned  in  another  chapter, 

there  is  a  paragraph  which  says:    "Westchester  is  about 
u  209 


210 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


nineteen  miles  from  New  York,  by  Land,  and  about  fifteen 
by  Water;  and  a  Water-passage  may  be  had  almost  every 
Day,  when  the  Weather  will  permit,  in  good  safe  Boats." 
There  was  a  regular  sloop  trade  also  to  Eastchester,  even 
during  the  Revolution ;  and  it  was  by  first  capturing  the  market 
sloop  engaged  in  this  trade  with  New  York  that  the  Darien 
whale-boatmen  were  able  to  effect  the  capture  of  the  Schuldam, 
the  British  guard-ship. 

The  building  of  these  vessels  began  very  early.  Shonnard, 
in  his  History  of  Westchester  County,  on  the  authority  of  the 
Reverend  Theodore  A.  Leggett,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the 
patentees  of  the  West  Farms,  states  that  John  Leggett,  a 
ship-builder,  executed,  November  30,  1676,  a  bill  of  sale  as 
follows : 

"John  Leggett  of  Westchester,  within  the  Province  of 
N.  Y.,  ship- wright,  to  Jacob  Leysler  of  N.  Y.  City,  merchant, 
a  good  Puick,  or  ship,  'Susannah'  of  New  York  now  laying 
[sic]  in  this  harbour,  and  by  the  said  Leggett  built  in  Bronck's 
river  near  Westchester,  together  with  masts,  Lay  boat,  and 
other  materials." 

The  ship-building  industry,  thus  begun  in  1676,  or  earlier, 
has  continued  to  the  present  day;  but  it  is  now  princi- 
pally carried  on  in  the  ancient  manor  of  Pelham  at  City 
Island,  where  yachts  and  pleasure  craft  are  built,  repaired, 
and  laid  up  out  of  season. 

There  was  also  boat  communication  by  way  of  the  Harlem 
Riv.er  and  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek;  for  in  November,  1776, 
Lord  Cornwallis  carried  his  troops  in  a  flotilla  of  boats  through 
the  river  and  creek  to  the  Hudson  for  the  attack  on  Fort 
Washington  from  the  Hudson  River  side.  That  these  streams 
had  always  been  navigable  was  one  of  the  principal  arguments 


Early  Means  of  Communication  211 


used  by  Lewis  G.  Morris  and  his  supporters  in  their  opposition 
to  Macomb's  dam. 

In  their  communications  inland,  the  settlers  at  first  used 
the  old  Indian  trails.  The  principal  village  and  fort  of  the 
Siwanoys  was  on  a  hill  to  the  south  of  the  present  Unionport, 
overlooking  Westchester  Creek.  From  the  strong  stockade, 
palisaded  in  the  Indian  fashion,  the  hill  came  to  be  known  as 
"  Castle  Hill,"  a  name  by  which  it  is  known  to-day.  A  village 
of  the  Manhattans  was  located  at  Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck,  and 
another  at  Nepperhaem,  the  present  Yonkers;  while  above 
the  latter  were  the  villages  of  the  Weckquaesgeeks,  all  members 
of  the  Mohican  tribe.  In  their  communications  with  each 
other  and  with  their  neighbors  on  Manhattan  Island  by  way 
of  the  "wading  place,"  there  was  formed  in  time  a  plainly 
marked  trail  extending  from  Paparinemo  to  Castle  Hill, 
called  in  Doughty's  patent  to  Archer  the  "Westchester  Path." 
From  Westchester  another  plainly  marked  trail  led  by  way  of 
Eastchester  across  Hutchinson's  River  and  contiguous  to  the 
Sound,  through  the  Rye  woods  to  "the  great  stone  at  the 
wading  place"  at  the  Byram  River,  the  eastern  boundary  of 
the  colony  and  of  the  State.  It  extended  still  farther  into 
Connecticut,  also  occupied  by  the  Siwanoys,  as  far  as  the 
villages  of  the  Pequots,  a  kindred  tribe  of  Mohicans.  It  was 
by  this  path  that  many  of  the  Connecticut  settlers  found  their 
way  into  the  Dutch  colony  of  New  Netherland  and  gave 
Stuyvesant  so  much  trouble.  This  was  pre-eminently  the 
"Westchester  Path." 

It  was  natural  that  the  earliest  whites  should  follow  these 
long  established  and  plainly  marked  trails.  As  time  passed, 
these  trails  became  wider  as  the  travellers  cut  down  the  trees 
for  the  convenient  passage  of  their  horses  or  wagons.  We 
find,  therefore,  in  these  trails  the  beginnings  of  the  roads 


212  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


which  later  developed  into  some  of  the  principal  highways 
of  the  county,  with  such  changes  in  grade  and  direction  as 
the  necessities  of  wagon  roads  required — the  Albany  and  the 
Boston  post-roads,  and  the  Kingsbridge  Road  leading  through 
Fordham,  as  well  as  Eastchester  Avenue  connecting  the 
parishes  of  St.  Peter's  and  St.  Paul's. 

The  Albany  Post-road  was  opened  to  the  Sawkill,  or  Saw- 
mill River,  in  Yonkers,  as  early  as  1669.  The  traveller,  having 
arrived  at  the  end  of  Manhattan  Island  over  the  old  Kings- 
bridge  Road  from  Harlem,  would  cross  Spuyten  Duyvil 
Creek  by  the  ford,  the  ferry,  or  the  bridge  and  thus  land  on 
the  island  of  Paparinemo.  Passage  up  the  west  side  of  the 
marsh  was  impossible,  and  in  ancient  days  the  task  of  filling 
it  in  for  a  roadway  would  have  been  too  costly  to  have  been 
undertaken.  The  traveller,  therefore,  turned  to  his  right 
through  the  marsh  or,  later,  over  the  causeway  built  by  Archer, 
Verveelen,  Betts,  Tippett,  Hadden,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Fordham,  and  found  himself  in  that  village.  Here  he  would 
turn  to  the  left  along  the  base  of  Tetard's  Hill,  and  so  north 
on  the  higher  and  dryer  ground  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
marsh.  The  road  crossed  Tippett's  Brook  about  a  mile 
from  the  bridge,  near  the  Van  Cortlandt  station  of  the  Putnam 
Railroad,  and  then  swung  westward  in  front  of  and  below  the 
Van  Cortlandt  mansion  to  the  western  side  of  the  valley,  up 
which  it  passed  to  Yonkers.  After  passing  through  the  lands 
of  John  Hadden,  it  came  within  the  manor  of  Philipseburgh, 
and  the  manor-lord  thus  became  responsible  for  its  mainte- 
nance. In  fact,  as  the  road  led  to  his  toll  bridge,  he  probably 
maintained  the  lower  part  of  it  as  well.  The  ancient  road, 
or  the  greater  part  of  it,  still  remains  and  is  known  to  the 
residents  of  this  section  as  the  old  Albany  Post-road.  It 
could  not  have  been  more  than  a  trail  at  first;  but  later  the 


Early  Means  of  Communication  213 


postman  travelled  on  horseback  and  travellers  accompanied 
him  on  the  way;  a  woman  passenger  sometimes  rode  on  a 
pillion  behind  the  postman.  It  was  not  until  after  the  Revo- 
lution, in  1785,  that  stages  began  running  over  the  post-road 
to  Albany.  It  was  not  until  about  1808  that  the  present 
Broadway  was  filled  in  on  the  western  side  of  the  marsh.  This 
was  done  by  the  Highland  Turnpike  Company,  who  hung 
gates  and  charged  toll.  The  causeway  called  Depot  Street, 
connecting  Broadway  with  the  railroad  station  at  Kingsbridge, 
was  constructed  about  1855  by  the  late  Joseph  Godwin,  Esq., 
as  a  short  cut  to  the  road  leading  to  Highbridge,  Morrisania, 
West  Farms,  and  Westchester. 

If  the  traveller  had  turned  to  his  right  through  the  village 
of  Fordham  at  the  foot  of  Tetard's  Hill,  he  would  have  passed 
over  the  ancient  Westchester  Path  up  over  the  hill  (Highbridge 
Road)  into  the  present  Kingsbridge  Road.  His  course  would 
have  been  then  relatively  past  the  Dutch  church  at  Fordham, 
the  southern  end  of  Jerome  Park  reservoir,  Poe  Park,  across 
the  tracks  of  the  Harlem  Railroad  at  the  station  opposite  St. 
John's  College,  Fordham  (though  the  ancient  road  used  to 
go  through  the  College  grounds),  over  Pelham  Avenue  to 
Bronxdale,  whence  he  could  continue  over  the  Bear  Swamp 
Road  to  Westchester,  or  turn  to  his  right  over  the  Unionport 
Road  to  Castle  Hill.  The  improvements  in  this  section  within 
recent  years  have  obliterated  most  of  the  old  roads,  so  that 
only  the  general  direction  can  be  given  by  present  thorough- 
fares. The  Highbridge  and  Kingsbridge  roads  are  ancient 
highways;  east  of  the  Bronx  River,  the  rural  conditions  still 
prevail  to  some  extent;  but  the  progress  of  development  is 
so  rapid  that  in  a  few  years  they  will  have  departed  also, 
especially  since  the  completion  of  the  subway  has  rendered 
these  rural  communities  more  accessible.    The  Bear  Swamp 


214 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Road  still  exists  and  leads  to  Westchester.  Its  name  was 
derived  from  a  swamp  to  the  east  of  Bronxdale,  where  the 
Siwanoys  had  an  important  village  near  the  site  of  Morris 
Park  race-track. 

Another  road  starting  from  a  point  on  Tetard's  Hill  beyond 
the  one  just  described  led  to  De  Lancey's  Mills  at  West  Farms. 
This  road  has  long  been  closed.  It  branched  off  from  the 
Westchester  and  Kingsbridge  road  near  the  present  Fordham 
railroad  station,  and  continued  in  a  southerly  direction  till 
it  met  the  line  of  East  i82d  Street,  over  which  it  passed  ap- 
proximately to  the  bridge  at  East  181st  Street,  below  the  lower 
dam  in  Bronx  Park  at  West  Farms,  where  it  was  known,  and 
still  is  to  the  older  inhabitants,  as  the  "Kingsbridge  Road." 
Its  continuation  connected  the  mills  with  the  borough-town 
of  Westchester.  The  portion  of  the  road  lying  within  the 
park  east  of  the  bridge  has  been  macadamized;  but  between 
Morris  Park  Avenue  and  the  bridge  over  the  tracks  of  the 
Suburban  branch  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford 
Railroad,  there  still  remains  enough  of  the  ancient  highway 
to  convince  us  that  preceding  generations  might  have  travelled 
in  style,  but  they  did  not  do  so  in  comfort. 

The  principal  road  that  the  traveller  could  take  after  cross- 
ing the  causeway  to  the  village  of  Fordham  was  the  Boston 
Road,  which  dates  from  1673.  This  swung  in  a  curve  around 
the  base  of  Tetard's  Hill  and  up  to  its  top,  paralleling  the 
Albany  Road  for  about  a  third  of  a  mile,  then  turning  sharply 
to  the  eastward  toward  Williamsbridge.  Here  it  crossed 
the  Bronx  River  and  turned  north  as  far  as  the  head  of 
Rattlesnake  Brook,  when  it  again  turned  sharp  east  to  East- 
chester.  Here  the  Hutchinson  River  was  crossed,  and  the 
road  continued  through  Pelham  Manor  to  New  Rochelle.  A 
few  miles  of  the  old  road  still  remain  and  can  be  traced.  The 


Early  Means  of  Communication  215 


first  portion  is  that  leading  up  to  Sedgwick  Avenue,  where 
Jerome  Park  and,  later,  the  reservoir  have  obliterated  a  section 
of  it.  From  Jerome  Avenue  to  the  Williamsbridge  reservoir, 
the  part  remaining  is  called  Van  Cortlandt  Avenue,  and  from 
the  reservoir  to  the  bridge  over  the  Bronx  River  and  to  the 
White  Plains  road,  the  section  is  called  improperly,  the  Gun 
Hill  Road.  The  White  Plains  and  the  Boston  roads  are  the 
same  thing  from  Williamsbridge  northward  to  where  the  latter 
turns  off  toward  Eastchester.  This  last  portion  of  the  road  is 
called  Bussing  Avenue,  which  begins  at  East  231st  Street,  one 
block  east  of  White  Plains  Avenue,  and  continues  on  to  the 
city  line.  As  soon  as  it  enters  the  city  of  Mt.  Vernon,  its  name 
becomes  what  it  has  been  for  over  two  centuries,  the  Kings  - 
bridge  Road.  With  all  due  respect  to  the  Bussings,  who  were 
extensive  landowners  in  this  vicinity,  the  ancient  road  should 
not  have  been  called  anything  else  than  the  Kingsbridge, 
or  Boston,  road.  In  fact,  a  few  of  the  old  signs  bearing  both 
titles  are  still  to  be  found  along  the  Bussing  Avenue  part  of  the 
roadway ;  and,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  it  is  not  too  late  to 
restore  the  old  names  and  thus  preserve  an  ancient  landmark. 
At  Eastchester,  the  ancient  road  is  connected  with  Coles's 
Boston  Road  by  a  short  street  called  Fisher's  Lane;  but  the 
two  roads  do  not  become  one  until  near  New  Rochelle.  The 
laying  out  of  the  Coles  road  diverted  travel  from  the  way  of 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  as  the  distance  was  considerably 
shortened  by  way  of  the  new  road  and  the  Harlem  Bridge. 

If  the  traveller  in  going  over  the  Albany  Post-road  had 
turned  to  the  eastward  at  the  bridge  over  Tippett's  Brook  near 
Van  Cortlandt  station,  he  would  have  continued  on  a  road  lead- 
ing to  the  Mile  Square,  as  the  purchase  of  French  and  others 
from  Doughty  was  called.  This  road  was  parallel  to  Van 
Cortlandt  Lake  for  over  a  mile  before  it  turned  to  the  east- 


2l6 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


ward  and  then  northeast  to  the  Mile  Square.  To-day,  it  is 
the  road  that  bounds  the  seventh  to  the  eighteenth  holes  of 
the  golf  course  at  Van  Cortlandt  Park.  It  probably  had  its 
origin  in  the  travel  of  the  farmers  of  the  Mile  Square  to  the 
mill  at  Van  Cortlandt 's  to  have  their  grain  ground.  The  road 
can  still  be  followed  up  the  steep  hill  in  Van  Cortlandt  Park, 
then  it  turns  east  into  East  233d  Street,  the  northern  boundary 
of  Woodlawn  Cemetery.  Beyond  this,  the  ancient  highway 
existed  until  the  early  part  of  1912  as  a  rural  lane,  winding 
along  as  the  northeastern  boundary  of  the  park  and  called 
Mount  Vernon  Avenue.  After  it  crosses  McLean  Avenue, 
the  city  line,  it  is  continued  in  Yonkers  over  a  fine  macadam 
street,  called  Kimball  Avenue. 

About  one  thousand  feet  from  the  bridge  over  Tippett's 
Brook,  on  the  Mile  Square  Road,  a  road  branched  off  to  the 
southeast  and  connected  with  the  Boston  Road  to  the  west  of 
the  bridge  at  Williams's,  about  East  210th  Street.  This  was 
the  Gun  Hill  Road,  so  called  from  Revolutionary  days.  It 
still  exists,  and  has  within  the  past  few  years  been  widened, 
graded,  and  macadamized.  The  name  is  given  to  the  road 
both  east  and  west  of  the  Bronx  River,  though  the  greater 
part  of  it  to  White  Plains  Avenue  is  really  the  Boston  Road. 
A  few  yards  of  both  of  these  ancient  roads  may  be  found  on 
either  side  of  the  reservoir-keeper's  house  at  Williamsbridge ; 
their  ancient  junction  is  now  within  the  walls  of  the  reservoir. 

About  three  hundred  yards  from  where  the  Gun  Hill  Road 
joined  the  Boston  Road,  another  road  led  directly  to  Yonkers  at 
Valentine's  Hill;  this  is  to-day,  substantially,  Jerome  Avenue, 
crossing  the  Gun  Hill  Road  between  East  210th  and  East  21  ith 
streets.  Its  extension  to  the  southward  to  the  Macomb's 
Dam  Road  and  its  conversion  into  a  driveway  was  one  of  the 
acts  of  the  Tweed  regime  in  New  York,  1870-72.     For  a 


Early  Means  of  Communication 


217 


couple  of  years,  the  road  has  been  almost  impassable,  owing 
to  regrading,  sewering,  etc.;  and  it  will  probably  be  in  like 
condition  for  two  or  three  years  more  while  the  extension  of 
the  subway  is  building  up  that  avenue. 

If  the  traveller  were  coming  south  over  the  Albany  Road 
from  Yonkers,  instead  of  turning  east  at  Van  Cortlandt's, 
he  might  have  continued  on  a  road  to  the  west  of  Tippett's 
Brook  which  led  along  the  base  of  Tippett's  Hill  to  the  junc- 
tion of  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek  and  the  Hudson  River.  This 
road  still  exists  as  the  Spuyten  Duyvil  Road,  known  locally 
as  Dash's  Lane,  after  a  gentleman  of  that  name  who  used  to 
live  here,  one  of  the  older  generation  and  a  friend  of  "Felix 
Oldboy." 

Southward  of  Kingsbridge  lay  Fordham  Manor.  The 
street  now  called  the  Highbridge  Road,  leading  from  the  Bronx 
side  of  Farmers'  Bridge,  was  laid  out  June  6,  1730,  though  the 
bridge  was  not  built  until  1759  .  A  week  later,  in  June,  1730, 
the  road  leading  to  the  Fordham  meeting-house  was  ordered. 
This  was  the  old  Dutch  church  which  formerly  stood  near 
the  junction  of  the  Fordham  Landing  (Berrien's  Landing) 
and  the  Macomb's  Dam  roads,  or  on  the  grounds  of  Webb's 
Academy  near  the  present  Sedgwick  Avenue.  A  road  also 
extended  before  the  Revolution  from  this  section  to  Morris- 
ania  opposite  Harlem.  It  was  approximately  on  the  line  of 
the  present  Aqueduct  Avenue,  and  crossed  Cromwell's  Creek 
about  East  169th  Street,  or  not  far  from  "Judge  Smith's" 
on  Jerome  Avenue,  thence  following  the  lines  of  Walton  and 
Mott  avenues  to  Morrisania,  but  probably  through  farms  and 
private  property.  The  lower  part  of  Jerome  Avenue  was 
built  by  Robert  Macomb  as  a  leader  to  his  bridge  from  the 
road  just  described;  both  being  known  as  the  Macomb's  Dam 
Road.    A  considerable  portion  of  this  road  from  Featherbed 


218 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Lane  is  still  called  Macomb's  Road;  it  connected  Fordham 
with  Devoe's  Point. 

Featherbed  Lane  is  a  road  connecting  Aqueduct  Avenue 
from  near  the  Borough  end  of  the  Washington  Bridge  with 
Jerome  Avenue,  down  a  steep  and  winding  way.  The  author 
has  heard  three  different  stories  as  to  the  origin  of  this  peculiar 
name.  One  is  that  during  the  Revolution,  the  inhabitants 
living  along  the  road  contributed  their  feather  beds  for  the 
use  of  the  patriots.  A  second,  which  he  thinks  the  most 
likely  of  all,  is  that  the  road  was  of  so  spongy  a  material  that 
to  walk  on  it  was  like  walking  on  a  feather  bed.  A  third  is 
that  the  road  was  so  exceedingly  rough  that  to  secure  any 
degree  of  comfort  in  driving  over  it,  it  was  necessary  to  have 
a  feather  bed  in  the  wagon  for  a  seat — but  this  would  answer 
almost  equally  well  for  all  the  colonial  roads. 

The  Fordham  Landing  Road  came  under  the  care  of  the 
commissioners  in  May,  1768,  as  on  the  third  of  that  month 
there  is  an  entry  in  the  ancient  records  to  the  effect  that 

"Commissioners,  at  request  of  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of 
that  part  of  the  Manor  of  Fordham  lying  upon  Harlem  River 
to  the  south  of  the  old  Dutch  church,  viewed  the  road  (laid 
out  to  the  river  by  said  church),  beginning  a  little  to  the  east- 
ward of  said  Dutch  church,  and  thence  running  southerly  as 
the  said  road  runs  to  the  landing  at  the  back  of  the  house 
now  occupied  by  Charles  Doughty  on  the  patent  to  Turneur; 
and  have  at  their  request  now  laid  out  the  same  road  as  and 
for  a  publick  highway,  to  be  two  rods  wide,  with  privilege  to 
hang  gates  on  the  same,  provided  they  are  kept  in  repair  so 
as  to  swing  with  conveniencey  and  not  otherways." 

In  early  days  another  road  led  from  the  manor-house  at 
Morrisania  to  the  borough-town  of  Westchester.  This  proba- 
bly followed  the  line  of  the  present  Lafayette  Avenue  (so 


Early  Means  of  Communication  219 


called  from  the  fact  that  the  distinguished  Frenchman  passed 
over  the  lane  to  Boston  after  his  visit  at  Morrisania  in  1824). 
This  lane  must  have  joined  the  present  Westchester  Avenue 
near  Fox's  Corners,  as  the  swamp  and  meadow  land  of  the 
Bronx  River  would  have  prevented  its  continuance  in  a  direct 
line.  Westchester  Avenue  follows  the  line  of  the  ancient  road ; 
this  was  laid  out  by  the  Westchester  Turnpike  Company 
after  1800.  In  1729,  the  town  authorities  of  Westchester 
ordered  that  a  road  should  be  laid  out  from  the  King's  Road 
leading  from  Morrisania  to  "the  landing-place  below  John 
Hunt's  house."  This  probably  refers  to  the  Hunt's  Point 
road  leading  from  Fox's  Corners. 

On  account  of  the  close  connection  between  Westchester 
and  Eastchester,  there  was  very  early  a  road  connecting  the 
two  places — one  following  the  old  Indian  trail.  In  the  patent 
of  Colonel  Nicolls  to  the  grantees  of  the  "Ten  Farms,"  the 
Westchester  Path  is  specifically  mentioned.  This  is  still  called 
the  Eastchester  Road ;  it  passes  up  the  west  side  of  Westchester 
Creek  and  joins  the  Boston  Road  of  1798  near  where  Corsa 
Lane  comes  from  Williamsbridge. 

From  the  road  connecting  Westchester  with  Williamsbridge, 
a  short  distance  from  the  crossing  of  the  Boston,  or  Coles, 
road,  there  is  a  road  called  the  Saw-mill  Lane  leading  to  Givan's 
Creek,  which  enters  the  Hutchinson  River  near  its  mouth. 
It  crosses  the  Eastchester  Road  north  of  the  Pelham  and  Bronx 
Parkway;  and,  from  its  name,  one  must  conclude  that  it  led 
to  a  saw-mill.  In  the  will  of  the  Reverend  John  Bartow, 
under  date  of  January  24,  1725,  we  find  him  devising  land  in 
this  neighborhood  and  describing  it  as  "bounded  on  the  north 
by  the  road  leading  to  Thomas  Haddon's  saw-mill."  The 
old  lane  is  to  be  wiped  out  when  the  proposed  plan  of  streets 
is  carried  out. 


220 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


From  very  early  times,  a  causeway  and  bridge  stood  across 
Westchester  Creek,  connecting  the  village  with  Throgg's 
Neck.  In  the  town  records  of  Westchester,  we  find  under 
date  of  July  9,  1678:  "It  is  ordered  that  ye  bridge  betwixt 
Frogges  Necke  and  ye  Towne  be  maintained  and  upheld  by  a 
rate  to  be  levied  and  assessed  upon  all  persons  and  estates 
that  are  putt  in  the  county  rate  belonging  to  the  Township 
of  Westchester,  East  Chester  excepted."  As  there  was  a 
number  of  farms  on  Throgg's  Neck,  there  must  have  been  a 
road  leading  to  Westchester,  where  were  the  church,  the  court- 
house, and  such  shops  as  then  existed. 

Another  important  road  through  the  middle  of  the  Borough 
was  that  leading  to  White  Plains,  the  county-seat  after  1759. 
It  is  still  in  existence,  north  from  Bronxdale,  passing  through 
Olinville,  Wakefield,  Mount  Vernon,  and  beyond.  From 
Williamsbridge  northward,  this  highway  and  the  Boston  Road 
were  one,  until  the  latter  swung  off  toward  Eastchester  at 
the  head  of  Black  Dog  Brook.  The  present  White  Plains 
Avenue  was  laid  out  about  1863,  a  little  to  the  west  of  the  old 
road  in  general,  though  passing  over  parts  of  it.  The  work  of 
widening  White  Plains  Avenue  to  a  boulevard  one  hundred 
feet  in  width  was  begun  in  the  autumn  of  1902,  after  several 
years  of  consideration ;  it  was  finished  in  January,  1908.  From 
below  Laconia  Park  at  the  southern  end  of  Williamsbridge, 
another  old  road  leads  to  Westchester,  passing  to  the  eastward 
of  the  former  Morris  Park  race-track. 

As  settlers  took  up  farms  along  the  shore  of  the  Sound 
beyond  Westchester,  a  road  was  laid  out  connecting  with 
Pelham  Manor.  Eastchester  Creek  was  crossed  either  by  a 
ford  or  a  ferry,  probably  the  latter,  as  the  tide  runs  too  strongly 
at  Pelham  Bridge  to  make  fording  safe,  except  at  slack  water. 
The  wooden  bridge  was  not  constructed  until  18 12.  This 


Early  Means  of  Communication  221 

road  appears  on  the  military  map  of  the  British  operations  in 
Westchester  County  in  1776,  as  do  most  of  the  others,  but  all 
with  considerable  inaccuracy.  This  highway,  called  Pelham 
Road,  joins  the  Eastern  Boulevard,  or  Shore  Road,  below 
Pelham  Bridge,  on  the  boundary  line  of  Pelham  Bay  Park. 
From  near  the  Bartow  station  of  the  Suburban  branch  of  the 
New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  Railroad,  a  road  leads 
down  to  Pell's  Point  (Rodman's  Neck)  and  City  Island,  as 
it  did  in  ancient  days.  The  most  northerly  of  the  roads  in 
this  section  is  the  "Split  Rock,"  or  Prospect  Hill,  road,  con- 
necting the  Shore  Road  with  the  old  Boston  Road  by  means 
of  Wolf's  Lane  in  the  town  of  Pelham.  It  was  the  route  of 
the  retiring  Americans  during  the  battle  of  Pell's  Point. 

The  principal  roads  of  the  Borough,  which  existed  a  century 
or  more  ago,  have  thus  been  sketched.  We  may  say,  generally, 
that  in  the  earlier  days  the  roads  radiated  from  two  points: 
the  ancient  wading  place,  ferry,  or  bridge  at  Fordham,  or 
Kingsbridge,  and  from  the  borough-town  of  Westchester. 
All  travellers  from  Manhattan  Island  to  the  mainland  had  to 
cross  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  from  which  the  roads  radiated 
like  the  ribs  of  an  open  fan — to  Yonkers  or  Albany,  to  the 
Mile  Square,  to  Boston  or  nearer  eastern  points,  to  West 
Farms,  or  to  Westchester.  The  borough-town  of  Westchester 
was  also  the  county-seat  until  1759;  and,  in  consequence, 
roads  from  all  sections  of  the  county  led  to  it.  By  the  above 
date,  the  upper  county  had  become  so  settled  as  to  make  it  a 
hardship  for  the  freeholders  to  go  to  the  southern  extremity 
at  Westchester.  The  Provincial  Assembly,  therefore,  trans- 
ferred the  county-seat  to  White  Plains,  a  point  nearer  the 
centre  of  population  as  well  as  of  area.  Through  the  different 
generations,  the  names  of  the  same  roads  have  changed  quite 
frequently,  so  that  it  is  sometimes  quite  difficult  to  trace  some 


222 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


of  them  under  their  various  aliases.  The  Highbridge  Road, 
for  instance,  could  not  have  been  called  such  until  after  the 
construction  of  High  Bridge  (1839-42),  yet  it  existed  in  very- 
early  times.  After  1813,  a  part  of  it  was  called  Macomb's 
Dam  Road,  and  so  spoken  of  in  deeds  and  records.  The  map 
of  the  roads  accompanying  this  chapter,  though  not  absolutely 
exact  as  to  scale,  is  near  enough  to  give  an  idea  of  the  general 
direction  of  the  principal  highways. 

It  is  a  cardinal  principle  of  the  common  law  that  every 
landholder  is  entitled  to  get  to  and  from  his  land.  In  this 
way,  as  more  farms  were  occupied,  there  grew  up  a  multitude 
of  private  lanes  and  roads,  of  which  many  in  time  became 
public  highways,  maintained  at  the  public  expense,  or  by  tolls, 
if  maintained  by  the  owners  of  abutting  property  or  by  other 
persons.  This  permission  ' '  to  hang  gates ' '  appears  in  a  number 
of  cases  in  the  records  of  the  highway  commissions. 

Most  of  the  roads  of  the  Borough  began  first  as  private 
roads  to  get  to  property.  After  1850,  when  the  newly-built 
railroads  had.  brought  in  such  a  population  as  to  admit  of  the 
incorporation  of  villages,  the  laying  out  of  highways  became 
more  systematic  in  each  locality.  That  there  was  no  general 
system  can  be  understood  readily  by  a  glance  at  the  map  of 
the  Borough  as  it  is  to-day,  with  its  intricacies  of  winding 
streets  and  avenues  going  apparently  in  all  directions.  Of 
course,  the  topography  of  the  Borough  has  affected  the  course 
of  the  streets  to  a  very  large  degree.  One  of  the  greatest 
problems  that  confronted  the  Commissioner  of  Highways  of 
The  Bronx,  or  of  Street  Improvements,  as  he  was  officially 
known,  was  to  whip  the  chaos  of  roads  into  some  sort  of 
systematic  arrangement.  This  is  being  done  gradually  in 
accordance  with  a  plan  which  has  been  developing  since 
January  1,  1893,  and  which  has  been  completed  only  since 


Early  Means  of  Communication 


223 


1903.  In  accordance  with  this  plan,  during  the  last  decade, 
blasting,  grading,  cutting  down  of  hills,  and  filling  in  low  places 
and  quagmires  have  been  going  on  in  all  portions  of  the 
Borough.  Should  a  person  familiar  with  a  locality  where 
such  changes  are  going  on  visit  it  a  year  or  two  later,  he  would 
find  it  developed  into  wide,  well-paved  streets,  lined  with 
solid  blocks  of  residences,  factories,  or  stores. 

A  most  notable  street  improvement  of  recent  years  is  the 
Grand  Boulevard  and  Concourse,  which  is  a  great  highway 
extending  from  Gerard  Avenue  and  East  161st  Street  to  the 
Gun  Hill  Road,  a  distance  of  nearly  four  miles.  The  road  is 
182  feet  wide,  and  is  to  serve  as  a  link  between  Manhattan 
and  the  park  system  of  the  Borough,  though  no  arrangements 
have  yet  been  completed  for  connecting  the  lower  end  of  the 
Concourse  with  Manhattan.  The  idea  of  the  road  originated 
with  Louis  J.  Heintz,  the  first  Commissioner  of  Street  Im- 
provements, as  far  back  as  1890;  but  the  preliminaries  were 
not  completed  and  ground  broken  until  October  1,  1902,  and 
the  Concourse  was  not  officially  opened  until  November  24, 
1909.  If  the  expectations  of  its  promoters  be  realized,  it 
should  be  the  most  magnificent  boulevard  in  the  world. 

In  colonial  days,  everybody  rode  horseback,  and  this  was 
the  usual  method  of  getting  from  place  to  place.  The  women 
rode  on  a  pillion  behind  a  man,  the  pillion  being  a  pad,  or  ad- 
ditional saddle,  behind  the  regular  saddle,  upon  which  the 
woman  sat  comfortably  and  safely,  as  she  could  hold  on  to 
the  rider  in  front,  as  well  as  having  a  stirrup  by  which  to 
steady  herself.  Many  of  the  horses  were  of  fine  breed,  and 
the  wealthy  gentlemen  kept  horses  for  hunting  and  racing 
in  the  English  fashion.  Some  of  the  gentry  had  a  coach  and 
four  with  liveried  footmen  and  outriders,  and  so  travelled  in 
great  style,  even  if  not  in  much  comfort  on  account  of  the 


224 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


badness  of  the  roads.  In  his  tale  of  Satanstoe,  Cooper  describes 
the  arrival  in  New  York  of  Patroon  Van  Rensselaer  of  Albany, 
and  how  the  whole  younger  population,  and  a  good  many  of 
their  elders,  went  out  to  the  Bowery  Lane  to  see  the  great 
landowner  come  into  town  in  his  big  travelling  coach.  A  two- 
wheeled,  springless  gig,  or  carriage,  was  the  usual  vehicle  of 
the  farmer  when  not  riding  horseback.  The  country  doctor 
made  his  rounds  on  horseback,  carrying  his  instruments  and 
drugs  in  saddle-bags.  The  first  physician  of  whom  we  have 
mention  in  the  Borough  is  Dr.  Pell,  in  1683. 

In  1796,  an  enumeration  was  made  of  all  the  vehicles  in 
the  State;  and  there  appear  coaches,  chariots,  post-chaises, 
phaetons,  and  other  four-wheeled  carriages;  while  of  two- 
wheeled  vehicles,  there  were  curricles,  chaises,  top-chairs, 
steel-spring  chairs,  sulkies,  and  wooden-spring  chairs.  The 
chaise  was  a  sort  of  two-wheeled  gig  with  a  top  and  was 
drawn  by  either  one  or  two  horses;  the  sulky  had  a  seat  for 
only  one  person.  These  two-wheeled  carriages  were  best 
suited  to  the  difficult  roads.  The  American  woman  had 
already  begun  to  show  her  native  independence  and  ability 
to  take  care  of  herself  by  driving  about  alone  in  an  open  chair, 
much  to  the  amazement  of  European  visitors. 

There  were  no  regular  mails  before  1673,  though  letters 
were  carried  by  travellers  or  by  special  messengers.  In  that 
year,  Governor  Francis  Lovelace  authorized  the  establishment 
of  a  monthly  post  between  New  York  and  Boston  in  order 
to  increase  the  intercourse  between  the  two  colonies.  The 
postman  was  a  sworn  messenger,  and  was  required  to  direct 
travellers  who  might  choose  to  accompany  him  to  the  best 
roads  and  the  most  commodious  stopping-places;  he  also 
was  to  select  the  most  convenient  places  for  leaving  letters 
and  packets  and  for  gathering  up  the  same.    He  was  obliged 


Early  Means  of  Communication  225 


to  make  the  round  trip  within  a  month.  This  scheme  of 
Governor  Lovelace  did  not  succeed,  and  so  the  first  mail  route 
was  abandoned  after  a  short  trial.  It  was  revived  by  Governor 
Dongan  in  1685,  and  a  charge  of  three  pence  was  fixed  for 
carrying  a  letter  one  hundred  miles  or  less,  and  for  a  greater 
distance  proportionately.  In  1698,  there  was  a  regular, 
weekly  post  to  and  from  Boston.  In  1704,  Mrs.  Sarah  Knight 
made  the  journey,  and  she  has  left  lively  impressions  of  her 
experiences  and  the  difficulties  and  dangers  that  beset  her.  In 
1708,  Lord  Cornbury  states:  "From  Boston  there  is  a  Post 
by  which  we  can  hear  once  a  week  in  summer,  and  once  a 
fortnight  in  winter."  In  1754,  Benjamin  Franklin  was  made 
Postmaster- General  of  the  Colonies,  and  the  post  was  estab- 
lished weekly,  both  winter  and  summer,  and  letters  which 
left  Philadelphia  on  Monday  morning  reached  Boston  on 
Saturday  night.  The  post-riders  were  reliable  men,  as  they 
often  carried  large  sums  of  money. 

In  the  early  days,  the  mails  were  carried  on  horseback,  and 
travellers  followed  the  same  method  of  travel,  or  used  a  private 
carriage;  but  in  July,  1772,  Jonathan  and  Nicholas  Brown, 
of  New  York,  established  a  stage-coach  between  New  York 
and  Boston.  The  trip  at  first  was  made  every  fortnight,  but 
the  enterprise  met  with  so  much  encouragement  that  before 
long  two  and  three  trips  were  made  a  week.  The  fare  was 
4d  New  York,  or  3d  lawful,  money  per  mile,  and  baggage  was 
carried  at  a  reasonable  rate.  A  stage  was  also  established  to 
Rye  in  Westchester  County  and  trips  were  made  three  times 
a  week.  The  stages  were  of  that  heavy,  lumbering,  canvas- 
topped  variety,  known  as  the  Conestoga  wagon,  which  later 
became  so  famous  on  the  western  plains  with  its  motto  of 
"Pike's  Peak,  or  Bust."  The  route  from  New  York  was  by 
way  of  the  Bowery  Lane,  McGowan's  Pass,  the  Kingsbridge 
is 


226 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Road  to  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  thence  by  way  of  Williams- 
bridge  to  Eastchester,  and  thence  by  way  of  New  Rochelle, 
Stamford,  and  other  towns  along  the  Sound  to  New  Haven. 
The  Connecticut  River  constituted  a  barrier  between  Say- 
brooke  and  Old  Lyme,  so  that  the  stages  were  obliged  to  go 
by  way  of  Hartford  and  Springfield.  Of  the  first  stages  over 
the  Albany  Road,  mention  has  already  been  made. 

MacAdam  had  not  yet  revolutionized  road-making,  and 
so  even  the  best  of  these  old  roads  were  quagmires  in  wet 
weather,  and  fetlock  deep  with  dust  in  dry.  Many  of  the 
streams  had  to  be  forded  or  crossed  by  ferries,  bridges  coming 
later  with  increase  of  travel.  Notwithstanding  the  establish- 
ment of  the  post-roads,  and  the  later  introduction  of  stage- 
coaches, the  favorite  manner  of  travelling  long  distances  was 
either  by  horse  or  sloop,  the  latter  especially  suiting  the  leis- 
urely traveller  of  that  day.  In  the  trip  between  New  York 
and  Albany,  the  sloops  came  to  anchor  every  night,  and  the 
journey  frequently  lasted  a  week.  The  same  is  also  true  of 
the  trip  to  the  east,  the  inlets  and  harbors  on  both  sides 
of  the  Sound  furnishing  safe  and  comfortable  anchorages  at 
night;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  there  were  no  light- 
houses along  these  thoroughfares  to  guide  the  mariner  at  night. 

Stages  were  also  run  from  the  outlying  villages  to  Morrisania 
and  Harlem;  and  later,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  when  the 
steamboats  began  to  run,  these  stages  connected  with  the 
boats  plying  to  the  city.    A  hand-bill  of  1830  reads  as  follows : 

"New  York,  West  Farms,  and  West  Chester  Stage. 
Stephen  Valentine  Respectfully  informs  the  inhabitants  of 
West  Chester  and  West  Farms  that  he  has  commenced  run- 
ning a  line  of  post  coaches  to  the  above  places,  and  hopes  by 
strict  attention,  together  with  good  horses  and  safe  Carriages, 
to  meet  with  a  liberal  support. 


Early  Means  of  Communication  227 


"Leave  West  Chester  every  day  at       a.m.,  and  No.  18 
Bowery,  New  York,  at  half  past  p.m. 
"Fare  to  West  Farms,  50  Cts. 
West  Chester, 


is,  50  Cts.  )  TTT.  x  A 
62^Cts.[WmterArrangement- 


These  prices  certainly  seem  very  moderate  when  we  take 
into  consideration  the  distance. 

Before  the  days  of  the  elevated  railroads,  a  favorite  route 
of  travel  was  by  means  of  the  fast  boats  running  on  the  East 
River  to  Peck  Slip,  Manhattan,  from  Harlem  Bridge.  When 
the  author  has  seen  the  Sylvan  Lake,  the  Sylvan  Dell,  or  the 
Sylvan  Stream,  or  the  rival  boats,  Harlem  and  Morrisania, 
upon  the  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  St.  John's  River  in 
Florida,  or  Chesapeake  Bay,  he  has  recalled  the  pleasant  sail 
through  the  East  River,  with  the  beautiful  estates  lining  its 
banks,  not  then  outlined  against  the  sky  with  towering  sky- 
scrapers and  tenements.  Smaller  boats  used  to  ply  upon  the 
Harlem  River  as  far  as  Kingsbridge,  and  this,  too,  within  the 
last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century.  After  the  railroad  was 
built  through  the  Borough,  the  stages  used  to  carry  passengers 
from  outlying  sections  to  the  stations  along  the  railroad,  a 
great  convenience,  as  about  1 840  to  1 850  many  wealthy  New 
York  merchants  began  to  buy  estates  in  the  Borough  and  to 
erect  fine  residences ;  and  the  railroad  and  the  stages  combined 
made  them  easily  accessible. 


CHAPTER  XI 


LATER  MEANS  OF  COMMUNICATION 

THE  successful  establishment  of  a  railroad  between 
Baltimore  and  Ellicott's  Mills  in  Maryland,  and 
of  the  Mohawk  Valley  Railroad,  the  ancestor  of  the 
New  York  Central,  turned  the  attention  of  both  civil  and 
mechanical  engineers  and  of  capitalists  to  the  possibilities 
of  the  new  method  of  travel ;  and  a  craze  for  railroad  build- 
ing began,  which,  with  the  United  States  Bank  troubles  and 
some  others,  helped  to  bring  on  the  financial  panic  of  1837. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  these  railroads  to  be  incorporated  was 
the  New  York  and  Harlem,  April  25,  1831,  with  a  capital  of 
$350,000,  increased  the  following  year  to  $500,000,  with  the 
stipulation  that  the  road  should  be  completed  to  the  Harlem 
River  by  1835.  This  company  was  authorized  to  build  a 
railroad  upon  the  island  of  Manhattan  only,  by  way  of  the 
Bowery  and  Fourth  Avenue.  The  engineering  difficulties 
to  be  overcome  were  too  much  for  the  engineers  of  that  day, 
and,  notwithstanding  the  stipulation  as  to  the  completion  of 
the  road  by  1835,  was  little  more  than  started  at  that  date. 
On  April  17,  1832,  the  New  York  and  Albany  Railroad  was  in- 
corporated for  the  purpose  of  building  a  road  from  the  end  of 
Fourth  Avenue,  Manhattan,  to  Albany.    This  company  met 

with  no  success  in  raising  money  for  its  construction;  and,  on 

228 


Later  Means  of  Communication  229 


the  principle  of  two  people  who  have  nothing  getting  married 
to  share  their  united  poverty,  the  later  company  surrendered 
its  Westchester  County  rights  to  the  earlier  company,  and  the 
two  combined  in  1838  as  the  New  York  and  Harlem  Railroad 
Company.  The  Legislature  of  1840  affirmed  the  contract 
between  the  two  companies,  and  further  authorized  the 
construction  of  a  bridge  over  the  Harlem  River,  and  the  exten- 
sion of  the  road  to  Putnam  County.  By  this  last  date,  the 
country  had  begun  to  recover  from  the  panic  of  1837,  so  that 
by  the  time  the  extension  was  begun  through  Westchester 
County  more  funds  were  forthcoming,  and  the  capital  was 
increased  to  $1,950,000,  and  $1,000,000  more  were  needed  to 
carry  the  road  to  the  county  line. 

The  first  portion  of  the  road  above  the  Harlem  River  was 
to  extend  to  White  Plains.  The  easiest  route  was  found  to 
be  by  way  of  the  valley  of  the  Mill  Brook  to  Williamsbridge, 
whence  the  valley  of  the  Bronx  River  was  followed  to  White 
Plains,  a  distance  of  twenty  miles.  By  this  route  not  much 
grading  was  necessary,  nor  was  there  required  much  blasting 
through  rock.  Several  bridges  were  needed,  which,  however, 
did  not  give  the  engineers  much  trouble,  as  the  spans  were 
short ;  this  was  not  the  case,  however,  with  the  bridge  over  the 
Harlem  River,  which,  for  a  long  time,  was  a  hard  nut  for  the 
engineers  to  crack. 

The  road  was  a  single-track  one,  and  was  finished  to  Ford- 
ham  by  October,  1841,  to  Williamsbridge  by  1842,  and  to 
White  Plains  by  the  end  of  1844.  It  thus  passed  through  the 
towns  of  Morrisania,  West  Farms  (Fordham),  Yonkers,  and 
Eastchester  within  the  Borough.  "The  first  running  of  the 
trains  through  the  country  was  a  matter  of  great  curiosity 
and  crowds  of  people  surveyed  them  from  the  surrounding 
hills,"  said  an  old  employee  of  the  company.  Celebrations 


230  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


were  held  to  commemorate  the  completion  of  the  road ;  and  at 
one  of  them,  the  following  toast  was  offered:  "The  Locomo- 
tive, the  only  good  motive  for  riding  a  man  upon  a  rail." 
The  completion  of  the  railroad  gave  an  impetus  to  the  section 
through  which  it  passed,  and  the  growth  of  the  Borough 
may  be  dated  from  1842,  the  lower  portions  building  up  first 
as  being  nearer  the  great  city. 

The  Harlem  Railroad  and  the  New  York  and  New  Haven, 
the  latter  being  the  lessee,  were  supposed  to  have  equal  rights 
in  the  freight  station  which  both  occupied  at  Centre,  White, 
Franklin,  and  Elm  streets,  upon  the  site  now  occupied  by  the 
Criminal  Courts  Building,  north  of  the  Tombs  prison.  The 
New  Haven  road  had  a  regular  passenger  station  at  Broadway 
and  Canal  Street,  at  that  time  (1840- 1850)  near  the  heart  of 
the  city;  while  the  Harlem  road  transported  its  passengers 
in  its  own  street  cars  to  Twenty-seventh  Street  and  Fourth 
Avenue,  where  the  locomotives  of  both  roads  were  attached, 
the  heavy  coaches  of  the  New  Haven  road  being  hauled  from 
Canal  Street  by  teams  of  four  or  six  horses. 

About  July,  1857,  the  block  bounded  by  Fourth  and  Madi- 
son avenues  and  by  Twenty-sixth  and  Twenty-seventh  streets 
became  the  joint  passenger  station  of  the  two  railroads,  and 
continued  so  until  the  erection  of  the  Grand  Central  Station  at 
Forty-second  Street.  For  a  number  of  years  previous  to  the  re- 
moval, the  use  of  steam  locomotives  was  forbidden  below  Forty- 
second  Street,  and  both  roads  were  obliged  to  haul  their 
coaches  by  four-  and  six-horse  teams  up  Fourth  Avenue, 
through  the  Park  Avenue  tunnel  to  its  upper  end,  where  the 
trains  were  made  up  and  the  locomotives  attached. 

The  Legislature  of  1869-70  authorized  the  erection  of  the 
Grand  Central  Station  and  the  tunnel  work  on  Park  Avenue 
above.    In  the  summer  of  1870,  the  Harlem  and  the  Hudson 


Old  Foot-bridge  over  Bronx  River  near  Woodlawn. 
From  a  sketch  made  in  1881  by  W.  J.  Wilson. 


The  Railroad  Depot  on  Fourth  Avenue,  Corner  of  27th  Street. 

From  Valentine's  Manual,  i860 


Later  Means  of  Communication 


231 


River  railroads  took  possession  of  the  new  station;  but,  owing 
to  differences  between  them  and  the  New  Haven  road,  the 
last  continued  to  use  the  Twenty-seventh  Street  station  for 
about  a  year  and  a  half  longer;  then  the  site  was  taken  for 
the  Madison  Square  Garden.  The  freight  station  at  Franklin 
Street  was  used  for  several  years  after  this,  the  freight  cars 
being  hauled  through  Fourth  Avenue  and  the  Bowery  by  means 
of  horses  until  the  lease  of  the  premises  expired,  when  the 
Harlem  freight  went  to  the  old  Hudson  River  yards  at  Thir- 
tieth Street  and  Tenth  Avenue  and  to  St.  John's  Park,  and 
that  of  the  New  Haven  went  to  the  water  front  on  South 
Street  and  to  the  yards  at  North  New  York  and  Port  Morris, 
both  within  the  Borough. 

We  have  thus  seen  how  the  passenger  station  has  worked 
its  way  uptown.  The  congestion  of  trains  in  the  Park  Avenue 
tunnel  and  the  enormous  passenger  traffic  concentrated  in  the 
Grand  Central  Station  called  forth  the  best  efforts  of  the 
engineers  of  the  railroads,  and  a  scheme  of  improvements, 
involving  the  spending  of  many  millions  of  dollars,  has  been 
underway  at  the  Grand  Central  Terminal  during  the  past 
five  years.  Notwithstanding  the  magnitude  of  the  work 
and  the  expenditure  of  money,  there  are  some  observers  who 
think  that  these  great  improvements  will  be  comparatively 
temporary,  and  that  the  station  will  have  to  be  moved  event- 
ually above  the  Harlem  River.  In  view  of  this  fact,  the  North 
Side  Board  of  Trade  submitted  a  scheme  to  the  proper  authori- 
ties in  the  fall  of  1902,  before  work  was  begun  at  the  terminal, 
for  a  grand  union  station  on  the  Harlem  River,  with  Third 
and  Fourth  avenues  and  East  138th  Street  as  its  other  bound- 
aries. This  site  would  be  convenient  for  all  the  existing 
trolley  lines  on  Third  Avenue,  for  the  Suburban  branch  of  the 
Xew  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  Railroad,  for  the  West- 


232  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Chester  and  Boston  electric  road,  and  for  the  completed  and 
proposed  subways,  while  connections  could  be  made  with  the 
Second  and  Third  Avenue  elevated  roads  at  a  comparatively 
small  expense. 

The  Harlem  Railroad  was  a  single-track  road  originally, 
but  its  business  increased  to  so  great  an  extent  that,  in  1852, 
it  was  double- tracked  for  the  first  seventeen  miles  of  its  length. 
The  enormously  increasing  business  of  both  the  Harlem  and 
the  New  Haven  roads  below  Woodlawn,  compelled  the  Harlem 
road  to  quadruple  its  tracks  from  that  station  to  the  Harlem 
River.  This  was  accomplished  in  the  fall  of  1891  by  the 
widening  of  the  road-bed,  the  sinking  of  the  tracks,  and  the 
building  of  retaining  walls  at  an  expense  of  about  $2,000,000. 
The  Port  Morris  branch  was  practically  completed  at  the  same 
time,  though  there  had  been  a  single  track  for  upwards  of 
forty  years.  The  great  steel  bridge  over  the  Harlem  River, 
carrying  four  tracks,  the  first  ever  so  constructed,  was  erected 
at  the  same  time  at  a  cost  of  $951,398.17.  The  length  of  the 
bridge  is  706  feet ;  its  width  is  fifty-six  feet,  and  the  draw  has  a 
length  of  389  feet. 

In  addition  to  its  more  than  one  hundred  miles  of  track 
within  the  Borough,  the  Central  road  has  a  great  yard  at 
Melrose,  containing  fifty-five  acres,  for  the  storage  of  extra 
cars  and  motors,  as  well  as  a  freight  yard  for  Bronx  freight. 
The  maximum  passenger  rate  under  the  general  railroad  laws 
of  1848  and  1850  was  three  cents  a  mile;  the  average  rate  is 
now  about  two  and  one  half  cents,  and  for  commuters  consid- 
erably less. 

On  May  12,  1846,  the  Hudson  River  Railroad  was  chartered 
by  the  State ;  but  work  did  not  begin  until  the  following  year. 
The  plan  was  for  the  road  to  follow  very  closely  the  east  bank 
of  the  Hudson  River  from  the  station  at  Thirtieth  Street  and 


Later  Means  of  Communication 


233 


Tenth  Avenue,  Manhattan,  to  the  towns  of  Greenbush  and 
East  Albany,  opposite  the  capital  city.  By  November, 
1847,  the  contractors  had  begun  work  on  the  various  sections 
of  the  road-bed;  but  the  difficulties  of  waves  and  tides  from 
the  river  and  the  hard  cutting  through  the  rocky  promon- 
tories on  the  line  of  the  road  caused  numerous  delays.  The 
work  was  pushed  with  energy,  but  the  contractors  could  not 
get  their  men  to  work  at  night;  and  the  enjoyment  of  the 
laborers  themselves  was  frequently  enhanced  by  the  scrim- 
mages which  occurred  between  the  "Corkonians  and  the 
Far- Downs,"  the  Irishmen  who  constituted  the  gangs  of 
workmen  having  transplanted  sectional  animosities  from  the 
"Old  Sod,"  as  well  as  themselves  and  their  material  belong- 
ings. These  kept  the  surgeons  busy,  but  did  not  increase  the 
joy  of  the  contractors.  The  directors  were,  however,  generous 
with  the  contractors  on  account  of  unforeseen  delays.  As 
planned  and  built,  the  road  was  double-tracked  as  far  as 
Poughkeepsie.  Travel  began  to  Peekskill  September  29, 
1849,  and  to  East  Albany,  October  13,  1851. 

The  New  York  Central  Railroad  was  authorized  April  2, 
1851,  and  its  organization  perfected  August  1,  1853.  Its 
charter  was  issued  for  the  purpose  of  consolidating  all  the 
roads  between  Albany  and  Buffalo  and  Suspension  Bridge. 
Among  these  minor  roads  was  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson,  the 
oldest  railroad  in  the  State,  chartered  in  1826  and  opened  on 
September  12,  1831.  On  November  1, 1869,  the  Hudson  River 
and  the  New  York  Central  railroads  were  consolidated  under 
the  name  and  title  of  the  New  York  Central  and  Hudson 
River  Railroad  Company. 

April  24,  1867,  the  Spuyten  Duyvil  and  Port  Morris  Rail- 
road was  chartered.  Its  length  is  6.04  miles,  and  it  connects 
the  Harlem  Railroad  at  the  Melrose  yards  with  the  Hudson 


234 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


River  Railroad  at  Spuyten  Duyvil.  Its  cost  was  $989,000; 
and  it  was  leased  by  the  Central  road  on  November  1,  1871, 
until  December  31,  1970,  at  an  annual  rental  of  eight  per  cent, 
on  its  cost.  It  was  necessary  for  the  lessee  to  have  control  of 
this  road  in  order  to  get  to  the  Grand  Central  Station  in  1870. 
It  was  about  the  same  time  that  the  Central  secured  control 
of  the  Harlem  Railroad.  For  many  years,  the  passage  of  the 
railroad  through  Kingsbridge  on  the  surface  made  several  of 
the  most  dangerous  road  and  street  crossings  in  the  State. 
The  course  of  the  road-bed  was  very  tortuous  and  twisting.  In 
order  to  overcome  this,  the  route  was  changed  in  February, 
1906,  so  that  the  road-bed  now  crosses  Spuyten  Duyvil 
Creek  on  a  causeway  and  then  follows  the  ship-canal  to  the 
Hudson  River,  its  bed  being  on  a  shelf  blasted  out  of  the  north- 
ern side  of  the  canal.  It  is  proposed  to  fill  in  the  bed  of  the 
stream  from  the  causeway  up  to  the  ancient  bridge  over  the 
creek. 

Beginning  in  1905,  work  was  begun  to  change  the  motive 
power  of  the  Harlem  road  from  steam  to  electricity.  The 
first  train  propelled  by  the  new  power  ran  fron  New  York  to 
Wakefield  on  January  28,  1907.  The  third-rail  system  is 
used.  On  the  sixteenth  of  February  of  the  same  year,  the 
White  Plains  and  Brewsters  express,  while  rounding  the  curve 
at  206th  Street,  below  Williamsbridge,  at  a  speed  of  over  fifty 
miles  an  hour,  suddenly  left  the  tracks,  owing,  so  it  is  sup- 
posed, to  the  spreading  of  the  rails,  and  twenty-three  people 
were  killed  and  over  seventy  badly  injured. 

The  construction  of  these  roads,  while  giving  access  to  the 
western  part  of  the  Borough,  has  had  no  such  effect  in  increas- 
ing population  as  had  the  building  of  the  Harlem  road 
through  the  middle  of  the  Borough.  Private  estates  and 
domains  of  considerable  size  prevail  to-day  in  Riverdale, 


Later  Means  of  Communication 


235 


Spuyten  Duyvil,  and  Kingsbridge,  which  still  keep  their  rural 
character,  though  the  march  of  improvements  and  the  real- 
estate  operator  will  soon  divest  them  of  this  characteristic. 

The  next  railroad  to  be  constructed  within  the  Borough 
was  the  New  York  and  New  Haven  Railroad,  which  was 
chartered  in  Connecticut.  Work  was  begun  at  this  end  of 
the  road  in  1847;  and  on  December  25,  1848,  the  first  train, 
filled  with  directors  and  their  guests,  passed  over  the  road 
between  its  termini.  The  road  comes  from  New  Haven  and 
joins  the  Harlem  road  at  Wakefield,  and  continues  over  the 
Harlem  tracks  to  the  station  in  New  York  City.  Its  only 
station  within  the  Borough  is  Woodlawn,  so  that  it  has  not 
done  much  in  developing  this  portion  of  the  Borough.  It  was 
consolidated  with  the  New  Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad  in 
1872,  under  the  name  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hart- 
ford Railroad.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  when  this  railroad 
first  began  to  run  its  trains,  the  passengers  were  booked  as  in 
the  days  of  the  stage-coaches,  and  the  conductors  were  obliged 
to  report  the  names  of  the  passengers  to  the  company. 

In  1872,  the  Harlem  River  and  Port  Chester  Railroad  was 
incorporated,  with  a  right  of  way  from  the  Harlem  River  to 
Port  Chester,  the  last  village  in  the  county  of  Westchester  on 
the  Sound.  It  was  immediately  leased  by  the  New  York  and 
New  Haven  road,  and  its  construction  begun.  It  is  usually 
spoken  of  as  the  Suburban,  or  Harlem,  division  of  the  New 
York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford.  Speaking  generally,  its 
route  follows  the  shore  of  the  Sound  to  New  Rochelle  on  the 
main  line.  Its  station  and  yards  at  the  Harlem  River  occupy 
the  site  of  the  house,  barns,  and  home  farm  of  Jonas  Bronk, 
and  the  manor-house  of  the  Morrises ;  and  on  the  East  River 
they  occupy  Oak  Point,  known  in  earlier  days  as  Leggett's 
Point.    Access  is  had  to  Manhattan  by  means  of  the  elevated 


236  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


railroad.  The  length  of  the  road  is  eleven  and  one  half  miles, 
but  with  sidings  and  other  tracks  the  entire  trackage  runs 
well  over  one  hundred  miles.  The  possession  of  this  branch 
gives  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  an  outlet  for 
its  freight  business,  as  the  length  of  water  front  controlled 
by  it  on  the  East  River  gives  ample  space  for  its  car  floats 
and  freight  yards.  In  addition,  several  through  passenger  trains 
are  run  on  board  large  steam  ferry-boats  and  transported  to 
the  connecting  roads  in  New  Jersey  without  putting  travellers 
to  the  inconvenience  of  transfers  through  the  city  of  New  York. 
The  road  is  to  be  connected  in  the  near  future  with  the  Long 
Island  Railroad,  and  will  thus  have  access  to  the  Pennsylvania 
Station;  this  will  be  done  by  means  of  a  bridge  across  the 
East  River  to  Queens  Borough  by  way  of  Randall's  and  Ward's 
islands.  The  corporation  constructing  the  bridge  and  road  is 
known  as  the  New  York  Connecting  Railway.  About  $20,- 
000,000  are  to  be  expended;  and  the  American  Bridge  Com- 
pany, the  contractor,  began  work  in  the  fall  of  191 1. 

While  the  construction  of  the  Hudson  River  Railroad 
required  a  good  deal  of  blasting  and  cutting  down,  that  of  the 
Suburban  branch  required  the  reverse;  as  owing  to  the  low 
lands  and  meadows  abounding  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
Borough  a  great  deal  of  the  Suburban  road-bed  had  to  be 
filled  in.  Its  construction  has  been  one  of  the  factors  in  the 
development  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  Borough.  Beginning 
in  1903,  work  was  begun  to  increase  the  road  to  six  tracks  and 
to  install  electric  traction.  This  has  entailed  an  enormous 
amount  of  work  and  the  construction  of  numerous  heavy 
steel  bridges  to  carry  the  streets  across  the  tracks,  and  the 
work  is  not  yet  finished  (April,  19 12). 

The  mutations  of  the  Putnam  division  of  the  New  York 
Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad  have  been  numerous. 


Later  Means  of  Communication 


237 


July  3,  1877,  the  New  York,  Westchester,  and  Putnam  Rail- 
road Company  was  organized  as  a  successor  in  part  of  the  New 
York,  Boston,  and  Montreal  Railway,  organized  in  1 871. 
February  18,  1878,  the  New  York  City  and  Northern  was 
organized,  and  acquired  under  lease  the  property  of  the  above 
mentioned  road.  July  21,  1879,  the  West  Side  and  Yonkers 
Railway  was  organized.  July  8,  1880,  the  Yonkers  Rapid 
Transit  Railway  Company  was  organized.  June  4,  1881, 
the  Yonkers  Rapid  Transit  Company,  New  York  division, 
was  organized.  October  11,  1887,  the  New  York  and  North- 
ern Railway  was  organized  after  the  sale  under  foreclosure 
of  the  New  York  City  and  Northern  Railway  Company,  and 
by  consolidation  with  the  above  two  last-mentioned  roads, 
May  1,  1890,  it  also  acquired  under  lease  the  West  Side  and 
Yonkers  Railway. 

Under  judgment  of  foreclosure  against  the  New  York  and 
Northern  Railway  Company,  its  property  and  franchises 
were  sold  December  28,  1893,  and  conveyed  January  12,  1894, 
to  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  J.  Hood  Wright,  and  Charles  H. 
Coster  as  joint  tenants.  The  same  day,  they  organized  the 
New  York  and  Putnam  Railroad,  under  two  acts  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  June  7,  1890,  and  May  12,  1892,  and  conveyed  all 
property  and  franchises  to  the  new  company.  On  January  30, 
1894,  the  New  York  and  Putnam  Railroad  was  leased  by  the 
New  York  Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad  at  an  annual 
rental  of  four  per  cent,  on  first  mortgage  consolidated  gold 
bonds  to  the  sum  of  $5,000,000  of  principal,  and  upon  $1,200,- 
000  to  be  issued  to  retire  the  five  per  cent,  bonds  of  the  New 
York  and  Northern  Railway  Company.  After  all  these  vicis- 
situdes, the  road  has  become  the  Putnam  division  of  the  leas- 
ing company. 

The  intent  of  the  original  projectors  of  the  road  was  to 


238 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


connect  at  Brewster's  in  Putnam  County  with  roads  for  Boston 
and  Montreal.  Its  southern  terminus  was  at  High  Bridge; 
but  the  West  Side  and  Yonkers  Railroad  was  organized  to 
build  an  extension  of  one  and  one  sixteenth  miles  to  the  Harlem 
River  to  connect  with  the  elevated  railroads  by  means  of  a 
bridge  at  155th  Street.  As  early  as  1 871,  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  right  of  way  was  purchased,  and  some  grading 
done,  but  owing  to  financial  difficulties  and  reorganizations 
the  road  was  not  opened  to  traffic  until  the  spring  of  1881. 
A  branch  from  Van  Cortlandt  Park  connects  with  Yonkers  by 
means  of  half -hourly  rapid  transit  trains.  The  Putnam  road 
has  opened  up  High  Bridge,  Morris  Dock,  Morris  Heights, 
University  Heights,  Kingsbridge,  and  Van  Cortlandt  Park. 
Though  run  at  a  loss  during  its  earlier  years,  it  is  now  paying 
more  than  its  expenses  under  its  present  lessee.  The  motive 
power  is  still  the  steam  locomotive,  though  suggestions  have 
been  made  to  introduce  electricity.  The  cost  of  the  road  has 
been  $11,700,000,  an  average  of  nearly  $206,000  for  every  one 
of  its  58.88  miles  to  Brewster's,  and  it  is  single  track  at  that. 

Under  the  State  Railroad  Act  of  1850,  a  number  of  street- 
car lines  was  formed  and  articles  of  association  filed,  but 
nothing  seems  to  have  been  done  until  later.  Among  these 
later  ones  were  the  New  York  and  Westchester  Railroad 
Company,  September  24,  1859;  New  York  and  Yonkers 
Railroad  Company,  October  17,  1859;  Union  Railroad  Com- 
pany of  Westchester,  December  15,  1859;  Port  Morris  and 
Westchester  Railroad  Company,  April  2,  1861;  and  the 
Third  Avenue  and  Fordham  Railroad  Company,  on  the  same 
date.  The  president  of  all  these  companies  was  David 
Milliken,  and  the  leading  name  of  each  of  the  boards  of 
directors  was  Gouverneur  Morris. 

The  last  of  these  companies  was  incorporated  under  Chapter 


Later  Means  of  Communication  239 


[43  of  the  laws  of  i860,  to  authorize  the  construction  of  rail- 
way and  tracks  in  West  Farms,  Westchester,  Eastchester, 
New  Rochelle,  Yonkers,  and  Morrisania.  The  road  was  to 
extend  from  Harlem  Bridge  to  Fordham,  via  Third  Avenue, 
but  as  the  road  was  not  completed  by  December  11,  1862, 
its  charter  became  extinct.  The  rest  of  the  companies  held 
on  to  their  charters,  and  were  built,  more  or  less,  subsequently. 

The  Third  Avenue  and  Fordham  Railroad  had  a  natural 
successor  in  the  Harlem  Bridge,  Morrisania,  and  Fordham 
Railroad  Company,  incorporated  in  1863,  with  a  route  from 
the  bridge  to  Fordham  via  Third  Avenue;  this  was  the  first 
street  railway  in  the  Borough.  According  to  the  report  filed 
at  the  end  of  1864  by  its  president,  John  B.  Haskins,  five  miles 
of  road  had  been  built  at  a  cost  of  $158,749.22  and  571,450 
passengers  had  been  carried.  The  road  was  capitalized  at 
$300,000,  of  which  $72,000  was  paid  up;  the  outstanding  in- 
debtedness of  $88,000  bore  interest  at  seven  per  cent.  It 
owned  seventeen  first-class  and  two  second-class  cars,  which 
travelled  by  horse  power  at  the  rate  of  six  and  one  half  miles 
an  hour,  including  stops,  or  seven  miles  an  hour  while  in 
motion.    The  rates  of  fare  were  as  follows: 

Harlem  Bridge  to  Morrisania   5  cents 

"  Tremont   8  " 

"  Fordham  10  " 

In  1865,  the  fare  to  Morrisania  was  increased  to  six  cents,  and 
the  average  rate  of  speed  (?)  decreased  to  six  miles  an  hour. 

This  is  the  rate  of  progress  according  to  the  report.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  on  very  stormy  nights  the  cars  did  not  run 
at  all,  or  at  such  infrequent  intervals  as  to  be  useless  as  a 
means  of  transportation.  The  road-bed  was  so  poor  that  very 
often,  when  the  driver  attempted  to  put  on  a  spurt  of  speed, 


240  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


there  would  be  a  sudden  jar  and  stoppage;  and  then  the  con- 
ductor would  stick  his  head  into  the  car  and  inquire  plain- 
tively: "Will  th'  gintilmin  plaze  get  aff  th'  car  an'  help  lift 
it  back  on  th'  track;  an'  will  th'  ladies  plaze  git  aff  th*  car  till 
th'  gintilmin  git  troo?"  There  was  all  the  excitement  of  the 
hold-up  of  a  western  stage-coach;  and  the  "gintilmin"  oblig- 
ingly alighted  and  lifted  the  car  back,  whereupon  the  inter- 
rupted journey  would  be  resumed.  So  frequent  were  the 
mishaps  and  delays,  that  a  writer  in  the  New  York  Herald 
in  1864  spoke  about  getting  off  the  cars  at  such  times  to  pick 
huckleberries.  Here  was  a  convenient  and  handy  nick-name; 
and  the  Huckleberry  Road  it  became  at  once;  a  name  which 
was  applied  to  the  whole  system  of  street  cars  in  the  Borough, 
and  which  became  notorious  under  the  wide  powers  granted 
to  the  "Huckleberry  System"  by  the  act  of  the  Legislature  of 
1892,  authorizing  the  incorporation  of  the  Union  Railway 
Company. 

The  first  extension  of  the  horse-car  service  was  in  1870, 
when  two  cars  were  run  between  Third  Avenue  and  West 
Farms  by  way  of  the  Boston  Road.  Since  then  many  exten- 
sions have  been  made,  both  in  the  days  of  the  horse  and  in 
the  days  of  the  trolley,  until  the  Borough  is  fairly  gridironed 
with  street-car  surface  lines,  most  of  which  give  and  take 
transfers  to  and  from  other  connecting  or  crossing  lines. 

The  trolley,  or  electric,  motive  power  was  first  introduced 
in  October,  1 892 ;  the  overhead  system  is  the  only  one  used  in 
the  Borough.  The  street-car  service  extends  from  the  Harlem 
River  northward  from  three  points,  Harlem  Bridge,  Central 
Bridge,  and  Kingsbridge,  though  cars  cross  the  Madison  Ave- 
nue, the  Lenox  Avenue,  and  the  Washington  bridges.  The 
most  important  of  these  radiating  points  is  Harlem  Bridge, 
over  which  many  lines  pass  from  their  terminus  at  128th  Street 


Later  Means  of  Communication  241 

and  Third  Avenue,  Manhattan.  These  lines  go  over  a  part 
of  Third  Avenue  for  a  greater  or  less  distance  before  diverging 
to  their  special  destination.  Until  the  spring  of  1908,  an 
additional  fare  of  three  cents  would  secure  a  transfer  to  or  from 
the  elevated. 

The  entire  system  within  the  Borough  was  under  the  Union 
Railway  Company,  or  "  Huckleberry  Road,"  until  January, 
1898,  when  the  Third  Avenue  Company  secured  control. 
The  Third  Avenue  and  leased  lines  were,  in  their  turn,  leased 
to  the  Metropolitan  Street  Railway  Company  on  April  13, 
1900,  for  nine  hundred  and  ninety -nine  years.  On  November 
25,  1901,  the  Interurban  Railway  Company  secured  control. 
The  development  of  the  system  is,  however,  mainly  due  to 
the  Union  Railway  Company.  In  January,  1904,  the  Inter- 
urban Company  petitioned  the  county  court  of  Westchester 
County  to  change  its  name  to  the  New  York  Railway  Com- 
pany. 

During  the  decade  from  1898  to  1908,  all  the  railways  of 
Manhattan  and  The  Bronx  were  being  manipulated  by  the 
late  William  C.  Whitney  and  others,  with  the  result  that  they 
came  virtually  under  one  management.  The  stock  was 
enormously  increased  beyond  any  reasonable  relation  to  the 
actual  value  of  the  road-beds,  rolling  stock,  barns,  power- 
houses, franchises,  and  earning  capacity,  so  that  in  June, 
1908,  they  went  into  the  hands  of  receivers;  and  the  transfers 
to  and  from  the  elevated  and  the  Westchester  Traction  Com- 
pany were  abolished  by  the  United  States  courts,  though 
those  with  the  Westchester  Company  have  been  resumed  in 
some  cases. 

The  successful  operation  upon  Manhattan  Island  of  the 
elevated  railroads  after  1870  turned  the  attention  of  engineers 
and  capitalists  to  the  possibilities  of  similar  structures  in  the 


242 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


newly  annexed  district.  Accordingly,  April  5,  1880,  articles 
of  association  were  filed  by  the  Harlem  River  and  Port  Chester 
Rapid  Transit  Company,  under  the  general  railroad  laws 
of  1850,  for  the  construction  of  a  steam  railway  from  East 
129th  Street  and  Second  Avenue,  Manhattan,  to  a  point  on 
Westchester  Avenue  near  the  Bronx  River,  there  dividing 
into  two  branches,  one  of  which  was  to  go  to  Hunt's  Point. 

October  19,  1880,  the  Suburban  Rapid  Transit  Company 
was  chartered  under  the  Rapid  Transit  Act  of  1875,  relating 
to  elevated  railroads.  November  30,  1883,  the  New  York, 
Fordham,  and  Bronx  Railway  Company  filed  articles  of  incor- 
poration under  the  same  act  for  the  purpose  of  constructing 
a  railroad  in  the  Annexed  District,  to  connect  with  the  elevated 
railroads  then  running  on  Manhattan  Island,  and  to  extend  to 
Bronxdale  and  Williamsbridge  in  two  branches  from  Fordham. 
March  17,  1886,  the  Suburban  Rapid  Transit  Company  ac- 
quired all  the  rights,  franchises,  etc.,  of  the  last-named  company 
and  began  the  construction  of  an  elevated  road  from  East 
129th  Street  and  Third  Avenue,  south  of  the  Harlem  River, 
to  143d  Street,  between  Willis  and  Alexander  avenues  in 
the  Borough.  The  bridge  over  the  Harlem  River,  generally 
known  as  the  "Second  Avenue  Bridge,"  was  opened  to  the 
public  May  17,  1886. 

In  1887,  the  line  was  continued  to  161st  Street,  a  distance 
of  2.16  miles  from  the  Manhattan  end.  To  145th  Street,  the 
road  uses  its  own  property,  none  of  the  streets  being  used 
except  to  cross  over,  and  the  tracks  are  constructed  in  the 
middle  of  the  blocks  between  Willis  and  Alexander  avenues. 
From  145th  Street,  the  elevated  structure  follows  the  line 
of  Third  Avenue.  The  next  extension  was  made  to  Tremont, 
177th  Street,  in  July,  1891.  Another  extension  was  made  to 
Pclham  Avenue,  Fordham,  in  1900;  and  the  last  extension  was 


Later  Means  of  Communication 


243 


made  to  Bronx  Park  through  the  grounds  of  Fordham  Univer- 
sity in  1902,  thus  making  the  total  length  of  the  line  about  five 
miles.  Until  August,  1891,  to  get  from  any  place  in  the 
Annexed  District  to  any  place  in  Manhattan  by  elevated 
required  the  payment  of  two  fares,  or  ten  cents ;  but  upon  this 
date  the  Manhattan  Company  acquired  the  Suburban,  and 
since  that  time  the  fare  from  the  upper  terminus  of  the  road 
to  the  South  Ferry  has  been  five  cents.  The  future  will 
undoubtedly  see  the  farther  extension  of  the  elevated  road  to 
the  city  line,  and  ultimately,  to  within  the  cities  of  Mt.  Vernon 
and  Yonkers. 

As  early  as  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  the  subject  of 
underground  railways  was  discussed  for  the  old  city  of  New 
York.  In  1868,  the  New  York  Central  Underground  Railway 
was  chartered;  in  1872,  the  New  York  Rapid  Transit  Com- 
pany, in  which  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  was  interested,  was 
chartered,  and  among  other  schemes  was  the  Beach  Pneumatic 
Railway  Company,  which  actually  built  a  section  underground, 
still  existing  abreast  of  City  Hall  Park. 1  All  these  companies, 
though  granted  full  powers  and  excellent  routes,  failed  to 
attract  the  necessary  capital  for  their  construction;  and  the 
building  of  the  elevated  roads  sidetracked  the  idea  of  under- 
ground railways  for  several  years,  or  until  1884,  when  the 
discussion  was  resumed. 

In  his  message  to  the  Common  Council  in  January,  1888, 

Mayor  Hewitt  called  their  attention  to  the  subject  of  under- 

1  On  February  8,  19 12,  preparatory  to  beginning  work  on  the  new 
Broadway-Lexington  Avenue  subway,  a  party  of  engineers  and  contractors 
visited  the  old  tunnel.  They  found  the  tube  in  an  excellent  state  of  pre- 
servation, but  the  rails  had  almost  entirely  rusted  away,  and  the  one  car 
of  the  Beach  Railway,  which  had  been  immured  for  forty  years,  was  in  a 
state  of  absolute  decay.  The  brick- work  of  the  tube  was  in  such  good 
c  idition  that  the  contractors  feared  it  would  take  as  much  work  to  de- 
molish it  as  to  build  the  new  tube. 


244  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


ground  railways  by  stating  that  the  existing  railways  of  the 
city  would  soon  be  inadequate  for  the  increasing  traffic,  and 
that  the  construction  of  an  underground  railway  was  desirable 
and  would  be  soon  absolutely  necessary.  In  view  of  these 
facts,  he  suggested  that  some  scheme  should  be  devised  to 
advance  the  credit  of  the  city  for  building  such  roads,  as  a 
large  amount  of  capital  would  be  required ;  but  nothing  came 
of  the  Mayor's  suggestion. 

In  1 890,  the  Legislature  enacted  a  rapid-transit  bill  affecting 
cities  of  over  one  million  inhabitants.  Under  the  provisions 
of  this  act,  Mayor  Grant  appointed  the  first  Rapid  Transit 
Commission,  which  made  a  report,  June  16,  1890,  in  favor  of 
an  underground  railway.  Routes  were  selected,  soundings 
made,  consents  of  property  owners  obtained,  other  property 
selected  for  condemnation  by  the  Supreme  Court,  and,  finally, 
the  franchises  were  offered  for  sale,  but  no  responsible  bidder 
appeared;  the  plan,  which  had  cost  the  city  over  $130,000,  was 
dropped. 

In  1893,  a  responsible  banking  house  offered  to  construct 
the  road  if  the  city  would  loan  its  credit  to  an  amount  not  to 
exceed  thirty  millions  of  dollars ;  but  ex-Mayor  Hewitt  pointed 
out  that  the  city  was  forbidden  by  the  Constitution  of  the 
State  to  loan  its  credit  for  private  enterprises,  and  that  the 
city  must  own  anything  for  which  its  credit  was  advanced. 
A  bill  embodying  the  ideas  of  Mr.  Hewitt  was  passed  by  the 
Legislature  and  signed  by  Governor  Flower  May  22,  1894. 
A  new  Commission  was  appointed  by  the  Mayor,  of  which 
Alexander  E.  Orr  was  president,  and  William  Barclay  Parsons 
was  chief  engineer,  both  of  whom  held  the  same  positions  when 
the  road  was  completed.  The  act  authorized  the  use  of  the 
referendum  at  the  election  of  November  6,  1894,  to  see  whether 
the  people  were  willing  to  increase  the  city's  indebtedness  by 


Later  Means  of  Communication 


245 


the  issue  of  bonds  for  the  construction  of  the  road,  which 
was  to  be  the  property  of  the  city.  The  vote  showed  132,000 
in  favor  of,  and  43,000  opposed  to,  the  plan.  It  was  not  until 
January  14,  1897,  that  the  routes  were  finally  decided  upon  and 
published;  and  it  was  not  until  January  15,  1900,  that,  all 
legal  difficulties  having  been  overcome,  the  Commission  was 
able  to  open  bids  for  the  construction  of  the  underground 
railway. 

There  were  two  bidders;  and  the  contract  was  awarded  to 
John  B.  McDonald,  who  offered  to  construct  the  underground 
railway  for  $30,000,000.  The  contracts  were  signed  February 
1 ,  1900,  and  the  work  was  formally  begun  on  the  twenty-fourth 
of  March  by  Mayor  Van  Wyck,  who  began  the  excavation  in 
front  of  the  City  Hall.  The  road  was  divided  into  divisions 
and  these  into  sections  let  to  sub-contractors.  No  time  was 
lost  in  getting  to  work  upon  all  sections  of  the  road. 

The  underground  rapid-transit  railway,  or  "subway," 
as  it  is  called  popularly,  enters  the  Borough  at  two  points, 
Morrisania  and  Kingsbridge.  At  Kingsbridge  the  road  is 
elevated,  crossing  the  bridge  over  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek. 
The  terminus  of  the  Broadway  branch  of  the  subway  is  at 
242d  Street  and  Van  Cortlandt  Park. 

The  West  Farms  division  crosses  under  the  Harlem  River 
in  tubes  at  West  145th  Street,  Manhattan,  the  tracks  emerging 
from  the  subway  east  of  Third  Avenue  at  149th  Street.  From 
there  to  its  terminus  at  West  Farms  and  Boston  Road  it  is 
an  elevated  structure,  following  Westchester  Avenue  and  the 
Southern  Boulevard.  Work  was  started  in  the  Borough  in 
the  spring  of  1901,  and  the  road  was  formally  opened  for 
passenger  traffic  from  City  Hall  to  145th  Street,  Manhattan, 
on  October  27,  1904,  and  to  the  West  Farms  terminus  on  July 
10,  1905. 


246 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


April  1,  1903,  the  Interborough  Rapid  Transit  Company 
was  formed  by  the  interests  engaged  in  building  the  subway 
for  the  purpose  of  controlling  both  the  subway  and  the  ele- 
vated railway.  As  their  interests  have  thus  become  identical, 
the  two  roads  issue  transfers  to  each  other  at  their  crossing 
at  Third  Avenue  and  149th  Street.  The  contracting  company 
had  until  September,  1904,  to  complete  the  construction  of 
the  road,  after  which  it  leases  the  road  from  the  city  for  a 
period  of  fifty  years  at  a  fixed  annual  rental.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  the  lease,  the  road  with  its  entire  equipment  of  power- 
houses, rolling  stock,  etc.,  becomes  the  property  of  the  city 
absolutely.  What  an  opportunity  that  will  be  for  the  authori- 
ties of  the  city  to  place  their  political  henchmen ! 

The  subway,  during  its  seven  years  of  existence,  has  been 
the  most  important  factor  in  causing  the  enormous  increase 
in  the  population  of  the  Borough.  That  it  is  totally  inade- 
quate for  the  demands  made  upon  it  is  shown  daily  in  the 
overcrowded  condition  of  its  trains,  producing  scenes  of 
brutal  indecency  that  I  do  not  believe  would  be  submitted  to 
by  any  other  people  in  the  world.  The  demand  has  been 
unanimous  for  some  years  upon  the  city  officials  to  extend 
and  enlarge  the  routes  of  underground  travel ;  but  the  rivalries 
of  the  Interborough  and  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  Com- 
panies, the  danger  of  going  beyond  the  debt  limit,  and  the 
apparent  impossibility  of  the  Mayor,  the  Board  of  Estimate 
and  Apportionment,  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  the  Public 
Service  Commission  getting  to  a  common  basis  of  agreement 
tied  the  matter  up  for  years.  At  last,  in  the  fall  of  191 1, 
contracts  were  let  for  the  building  of  some  of  the  proposed 
lines. 

That  in  which  the  Borough  is  interested  is  the  new  route 
up  the  east  side  of  Manhattan,  thus  saving  the  time  necessary 


Later  Means  of  Communication  247 


for  the  present  detour  to  the  west  side.  This  is  called  the 
Broadway-Lexington  Avenue  route,  because  it  starts  in  lower 
Broadway,  but  swings  over  to  Lexington  Avenue,  which  it 
follows  to  the  Harlem  River,  under  which  it  crosses  in  tubes. 
At  East  138th  Street  and  Park  Avenue,  the  subway  will  divide 
into  two  branches  of  three  tracks  each:  the  Jerome  Avenue 
branch,  and  the  Southern  Boulevard  branch. 

The  first  named  remains  underground  to  River  Avenue  and 
East  157th  Street,  where  it  emerges  from  the  ground  and 
becomes  elevated  above  Jerome  Avenue,  which  it  follows  to 
Woodlawn,  a  distance  of  6.1  miles. 

The  other  route  will  turn  east  under  138th  Street  as  far  as 
the  Southern  Boulevard,  which  it  will  follow  underground  as 
far  as  Hunt's  Point,  where  it  will  swing  under  Whitlock  Avenue 
which  it  will  follow  to  a  point  south  of  Westchester  Avenue. 
Here  it  emerges  from  the  ground  and  becomes  elevated  over 
Westchester  Avenue,  which  it  will  follow  to  Pelham  Bay  Park, 
a  distance  of  7.2  miles. 

Work  was  begun  upon  the  different  sections  of  the  road  in 
Manhattan  in  November,  191 1,  and  the  first  work  was  started 
in  The  Bronx  with  appropriate  ceremonies  at  Mott  Avenue, 
just  north  of  138th  Street  on  the  morning  of  December  4,  191 1 . 
It  is  expected  that  the  road  will  be  running  at  the  expiration 
of  two  years  from  the  beginning  of  work.  Another  extension 
of  the  rapid-transit  system  will  be  started  probably  within  a 
few  months,  when  the  Interborough  agrees  upon  terms  with 
the  city  for  an  extension  from  its  present  terminus  at  West 
Farms  by  way  of  White  Plains  Avenue  to,  or  near,  the  city 
line. 

In  1898,  Mr.  W.  C.  Gotshall,  an  electrical  engineer,  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  an  electric  railway  to  run  to  Port  Chester. 
It  was  organized  under  the  laws  of  the  State  on  April  5,  1901, 


248  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


and  application  was  made  to  the  railroad  commissioners  for 
a  franchise.  At  the  first  public  hearing,  strong  opposition 
was  manifested  by  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford 
Railroad,  the  New  York  Central,  the  Union  Railway  Com- 
pany, and  the  New  York  and  Stamford,  the  last  still  to  be 
constructed.  Mr.  Gotshall  stated  what  his  company  intended 
to  do;  and  these  statements  he  supported  with  the  strongest 
kind  of  evidence,  so  that  the  citizens  of  the  Borough  and  of 
Westchester  County  were  almost  unanimously  in  his  favor. 
After  the  first  hearing,  the  opposing  roads,  with  the  exception 
of  the  New  Haven,  withdrew  their  opposition.  Then  followed 
a  fight  for  several  years.  The  New  York,  Westchester,  and 
Boston  Railroad  then  entered  the  field;  but  great  doubt 
existed  as  to  the  value  of  its  charter,  which  had  expired,  so  it 
was  alleged,  because  nothing  had  been  done  in  the  way  of  con- 
struction within  the  time  specified  by  law. 

The  application  of  the  Port  Chester  road  to  the  Board  of 
Aldermen  of  the  city  for  permission  to  cross  the  streets  of  the 
Borough  on  its  own  right  of  way  was  held  up  for  over  a  year, 
while  the  application  of  the  Boston  and  Westchester  was 
granted  almost  at  once.  The  reason  given  by  one  of  the 
aldermen  on  the  Committee  on  Railroads  was  "that  the  Port 
Chester  Company  had  not  convinced  him  of  its  financial 
responsibility,  while  the  Westchester  people  came  and  showed 
they  had  the  money."  Whereupon  General  Daniel  Sickles, 
then  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  who  had  asked  the 
question,  simply  said:  "Oh!" 

To  the  author,  who  followed  the  various  applications  and 
proceedings  for  several  years,  it  seemed  that  the  Port  Chester 
people,  backed  by  the  entire  populations  of  the  sections  through 
which  the  road  would  pass,  tried  to  get  its  franchise  without 
"buying"  it  from  the  authorities,  while  the  Westchester  road 


Later  Means  of  Communication  249 

"showed"  its  money  (to  use  an  aldermanic  term),  to  the 
authorities  and  convinced  them  of  its  financial  ability.  How- 
ever that  may  be,  the  Port  Chester  people  offered  so  much  to 
the  city  in  the  way  of  payment  of  its  franchise  that  the 
court  of  appeals  at  last  ordered  that  it  should  be  granted,  in 
accordance  with  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  State  Railroad 
Commissioners. 

Work  was  begun  upon  the  road-bed  on  June  21,  1906,  and 
large  sums  of  money  were  spent,  both  in  the  Borough  and  in 
Westchester  County;  then,  after  months  of  work,  everything 
suddenly  stopped  and  remained  so  for  over  a  year.  Then  the 
public  was  informed  through  the  press  that  both  the  contend- 
ing roads  had  sold  their  franchises  to  the  New  York,  New 
Haven,  and  Hartford  Railroad;  and  assurances  came  from 
President  Mellen  of  that  railroad  in  the  latter  part  of  January, 
1909,  that  work  would  be  resumed  upon  the  construction  of 
the  electric  elevated  lines  of  the  two  roads,  combined  into  one, 
at  as  early  a  date  as  convenient. 

The  convenient  day  came  sooner  than  most  people  expected, 
for  work  was  resumed  shortly  after.  In  the  fall  of  191 1,  the 
railroad  officials  announced  that  the  road  would  be  running 
early  in  February;  but,  owing  to  the  delay  in  receiving  equip- 
ment, the  first  passenger  trains  were  not  run  until  May  29, 
19 1 2.  At  West  Farms  there  is  a  great  union  station  with  the 
subway,  but  the  Port  Chester  road  continues  south  over  Walker 
Avenue  and  comes  down  to  the  level  of  the  tracks  of  the 
Suburban  branch  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford, 
which  it  uses  to  the  terminus  of  the  Suburban  branch.  North- 
ward from  the  union  station  at  Adams  Street  and  Morris  Park 
Avenue,  the  Port  Chester  road  parallels  the  latter  for  some 
distance,  then  crosses  the  old  Morris  Park  race  track  and 
continues  straightway  to  the  city  line  near  old  St.  Paul's, 


250  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Eastchester.  The  route  is  owned  by  the  railroad  company, 
and  public  streets  are  not  used,  though  several  have  been 
closed  at  Van  Nest,  where  the  union  station  is  located.  There 
are  no  grade  crossings  on  the  road  from  beginning  to  end. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  CHURCHES 

THE  earliest  settlers  in  the  Borough,  Throgmorton's 
colony  of  1642  and  those  who  settled  at  Westchester 
in  1653,  were  refugees  from  the  New  England  col- 
onies who  sought  the  Dutch  colony  of  New  Netherland  for  a 
freer  exercise  of  their  religion;  the  policy  of  the  Dutch  in 
regard  to  religious  matters  being  much  more  liberal  than  that 
pursued  in  Plymouth,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Salem,  or  the  Con- 
necticut colonies.  Most  of  these  settlers  were  Independents, 
the  rest  were  Quakers. 

In  1646,  Father  Jogue,  a  Jesuit  missionary,  visited  New 
Amsterdam  and  wrote:  "No  religion  is  publicly  exercised  but 
the  Calvinist,  and  orders  are  to  admit  none  but  Calvinists, 
but  this  is  not  observed;  and  there  are  in  the  Colony  besides 
the  Calvinists,  Catholics,  English  Puritans,  Lutherans,  Ana- 
baptists, here  called  Mnistres,  &c,  &c." 

Sir  Edmund  Andros,  the  Governor,  in  an  account  of 
New  York  in  1678,  says: 

"There  are  Religions  of  all  sorts,  one  Church  of  England, 
severall  Presbiterians  &  Independents,  Quakers  &  Anabaptists, 
of  severall  sects,  some  Jews,  but  presbiterians  &  Indipendts 
most  numerous  &  substantiall.  .  .  .  And  all  places  oblidged 
to  build  churches  and  provide  for  a  minister,  in  wch  most  very 
wanting,  but  presbiterians  &  Independents  desirous  to  haue 

251 


252 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


[have]  &  maintaine  them  if  to  be  had.  There  are  abt  20 
churches  or  Meeting  places  of  w°h  aboue  [above]  halfe 
vacant. " 

While  the  earlier  account  is  before  the  occupation  of  the 
mainland  to  any  extent,  except  at  Throgg's  Neck,  they  both 
describe  conditions  which  prevailed  during  the  earlier  days  of 
the  colony. 

The  Westchester  colony  had  no  minister  until  1665,  and  then 
only  for  a  short  time,  when  the  Reverend  Mr.  Brewster  seems 
to  have  officiated ;  but  that  they  had  religious  services  of  some 
kind  is  shown  by  an  extract  from  the  journal  of  the  Dutch 
commissioners  who  visited  Oostdorp  in  1656: 

"31  Dec.  after  dinner,  Cornelius  van  Ruyven  went  to  the 
house  where  they  held  their  Sunday  meeting,  to  see  their  mode 
of  worship;  as  they  had,  as  yet,  no  preacher.  There  I  found 
a  gathering  of  about  fifteen  men,  and  ten  or  twelve  women. 
Mr.  Baly  said  the  prayer,  after  which,  one  Robert  Basset 
read  from  a  printed  book  a  sermon,  composed  by  an  Eng- 
lish clergyman  in  England;  after  the  reading,  Mr.  Baly  gave 
out  another  prayer  and  sung  a  psalm,  and  they  all  sepa- 
rated." 

Dominie  Megapolensis  bears  similar  testimony  in  a  letter 
to  Holland  in  1657.  Like  their  New  England  brethren,  they 
combined  town  matters  with  religious  ones;  and  the  town 
records  contain  references  to  both  equally,  the  inhabitants 
constituting  the  congregation,  and  vice  versa.  In  the  records, 
under  date  of  July  29,  1674,  appears  the  name  of  the  Reverend 
Ezekiel  Fogge,  probably  the  first  Independent,  or  Congre- 
gational, minister  to  officiate  at  Westchester.  In  1680,  the 
name  of  Morgan  Jones  appears  as  performing  the  rites  of 
baptism  and  marriage. 


The  Churches  253 

At  the  town-meeting  at  Westchester,  January  2,  1692,  it 
was  agreed: 

"that  there  shall  be  an  orthodox  minister  in  the  town 
aforesaid,  as  soon  as  possible  may  be;  and  to  allow  him  forty 
or  fifty  pounds  per  annum,  equivalent  to  money,  for  his 
maintenance.  It  is  also  voted  and  agreed  upon,  that  a  man 
shall  go  to  the  Honorable  Colonel  Heathcote,  and  see  if  he  can 
prevail  with  him  for  to  procure  us  a  minister,  in  his  travels 
in  New  England,  otherwise,  that  Captain  William  Barnes  shall 
go  and  procure  us  a  minister." 

September  21,  1693,  the  Provincial  Assembly  passed  an  act 
for  settling  a  ministry;  and  the  county  of  Westchester  was 
divided  into  two  parishes,  Westchester  and  Rye.  The  former 
included  the  towns  and  precincts  of  Westchester,  Eastchester, 
Yonkers,  and  Pelham  Manor,  and  was  required  to  raise  fifty 
pounds  per  annum  for  the  support  of  a  minister.  There  was 
also  to  be  "called,  inducted  and  established,  a  good,  sufficient 
Protestant  minister";  but  so  few  persons  at  that  time  were 
qualified  to  accept  the  call  of  the  vestry  that  it  was  not  until 
May,  1695,  that  steps  were  taken  to  call  the  Reverend  Warham 
Mather,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  and  a  member  of  the  famous 
family  which  gave  so  many  divines  to  New  England. 

That  there  was  a  church  building  at  Westchester  is  evident 
from  the  description  of  the  town  given  by  the  Reverend  John 
Miller  in  1695.  "There  is  a  meeting-house  at  Westchester, 
and  a  young  man  coming  to  settle  there  without  orders 
[i.e.,  not  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England].  There  are 
two  or  three  hundred  English  and  Dissenters,  a  few  Dutch." 
When  this  meeting-house  was  built  is  problematical ;  but  as  on 
May  5,  1696,  it  had  so  fallen  into  decay  that  the  town  voted 
to  repair  it,  we  may  surmise  that  it  might  have  been  perhaps 
twenty  years  old.    On  May  3,  1697,  "  It  was  voted  and  agreed 


254  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


upon,  that  there  should  be  a  Town  House  built,  to  keep  courts 
in,  and  for  the  publick  worship  of  God." 

In  1699,  an  act  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  authorized 
the  towns  of  the  Province  to  build  and  repair  meeting-houses, 
and  to  lay  taxes  for  the  same.  In  view  of  this  act,  the  idea 
of  building  a  town-house  was  abandoned,  and  a  new  parish 
church  was  erected  in  1700,  the  expense  of  building  the  same 
being  laid  upon  all  the  inhabitants,  irrespective  of  religious 
belief  or  faith.  It  was  twenty-eight  feet  square,  with  a  "ter- 
ret "  on  top  for  a  bell  tower,  capping  a  pyramidal  roof,  and  was 
built  of  wood  by  Richard  Ward  at  a  cost  of  forty  pounds.  It 
occupied  the  site  of  the  present  Episcopal  Church  of  St. 
Peter's,  on  the  Town  Green,  adjoining  the  court-house  and 
jail.  It  was  used  as  a  church  until  1788,  when  it  was  in  such 
bad  order  after  the  Revolution  that  it  was  sold  to  Mrs.  Sarah 
Ferris  and  removed. 

The  Reverend  Warham  Mather  served  as  minister  until 
1 70 1,  but  was  never  inducted  into  the  living,  owing  to  the 
adverse  efforts  of  Colonel  Heathcote,  who  had  been  elected  a 
church-warden  of  the  parish  and  who,  stout  churchman  as  he 
was,  opposed  the  installation  of  a  dissenting  clergyman.  In 
his  letter  of  April  10,  1704,  to  the  secretary  of  the  Propagation 
Society,  Colonel  Heathcote  says: 

"Sir,  being  favor 'd  with  this  opportunity,  I  cannot  omitt 
giving  you  the  state  of  this  county  in  relation  to  the  church, 
and  shall  begin  the  history  thereof  from  the  time  I  first  came 
amongst  them,  which  was  about  twelve  years  ago,  when  I 
found  it  the  most  rude  and  heathenish  country  I  ever  saw  in 
my  whole  life,  which  called  themselves  Christians — there 
being  not  so  much  as  the  least  marks  or  footsteps  of  religion 
of  any  sort.  Sundays  being  the  only  time  sett  apart  by  them 
for  all  manner  of  vain  sports  and  lewd  diversions,  and  they  were 
grown  to  such  a  degree  of  rudeness,  that  it  was  intolerable; 


The  Churches 


255 


and  having  then  the  command  of  the  militia,  I  sent  an  order 
to  all  captains,  requiring  them  to  call  their  men  under  arms 
and  to  acquaint  them  that  in  case  they  would  not,  in  every 
town,  agree  amongst  themselves  to  appoint  readers  and  pass 
the  Sabbath  in  the  best  manner  they  could,  till  such  times  as 
they  could  be  better  provided ;  that  they  should  every  Sunday 
call  their  companies  under  arms,  and  spend  the  day  in  exercise, 
whereupon  it  was  unanimously  agreed  on  thro'  the  county, 
to  make  choice  of  readers;  which  they  accordingly  did,  and 
continued  in  those  efforts  some  time.  After  which  the  people 
of  Westchester,  Eastchester,  and  a  place  called  Lower  Yonkers, 
agreed  with  one  Warren  Mather,  and  the  people  of  Rye  with 
one  Mr.  Woodbridge,  both  of  New  England,  there  being  at 
that  time  scarce  six  in  the  whole  county  who  so  much  as  in- 
clined to  ye  church.  After  Mr.  Mather  had  been  with  them 
for  some  time,  Westchester  Parish  made  choice  of  me  for  one 
of  their  church- war  dens,  in  hopes  of  using  my  interest  with 
Colonel  Fletcher  to  have  Mather  inducted  to  ye  living.  I 
told  them  it  was  altogether  impossible  for  me  to  comply 
with  their  desire,  it  being  wholly  repugnant  to  the  laws  of 
England  to  compell  the  subject  to  pay  for  the  maintenance  of 
any  minister  who  was  not  of  the  national  church,  and  that  it 
lay  not  in  any  governor's  power  to  help  them." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Governor  Benjamin  Fletcher 
had  intentionally  misconstrued  an  act  of  the  Assembly  and 
had  declared  the  Church  of  England  to  be  the  Established 
Church  of  the  Province.  Colonel  Heathcote  tried  to  have 
called  to  the  living  a  French  Protestant  living  in  Boston,  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Bondett,  who  had  taken  holy  orders;  but  though 
the  vestry  at  first  agreed,  they  afterwards  refused  to  allow  of 
his  induction.  Appeal  was  then  made  to  London,  to  the 
Venerable  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith  in  Foreign 
Parts,  whose  province  it  was  to  furnish  clergymen  to  the 
colonies  of  England. 


256 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


In  accordance  with  the  request,  the  Society  sent  out  to 
Westchester  the  Reverend  John  Bartow,  A.M.,  who  arrived 
in  New  York  in  1 702 ;  and  who,  on  the  sixth  of  December  of 
the  same  year,  was  regularly  inducted  into  the  Parish  of 
Westchester  and  Eastchester  by  the  Reverend  William  Vesey, 
Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  and  Josiah  Hunt, 
church-warden  of  the  parish,  acting  under  instructions  from 
the  Bishop  of  London,  and  from  Lord  Cornbury,  the  Governor 
of  the  province.  Mr.  Bartow  thus  became  the  first  regular 
rector  of  the  parish,  and  served  as  such  until  his  death  in  1726, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-two.  Mr.  Bartow  was  of  Huguenot  extrac- 
tion, the  ancestor  of  the  family  having  fled  to  England  after 
the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  in  1572.  The  name  was 
originally  Bertaut,  but  it  became,  in  time,  anglicized  into 
Bartow. 

In  an  account  of  the  state  of  the  Church  in  the  Province 
laid  before  the  clergy  at  New  York,  October  5,  1704,  we  find 
the  following  summary: 

"Westchester,  Mr.  Bartow,  Rector 

"Here  is  a  church  built,  but  not  finished,  being  neither 
glazed  nor  ceiled.  The  parish  of  Westchester  is  divided  into 
four  several  districts,  viz.,  Westchester,  Eastchester,  Yonkers 
and  the  Manor  of  Pelham. 

"There  is  £50  settled  on  the  ministers  by  act  of  Assembly. 

' 1  There  is  twenty  acres  of  land  given  by  Westchester  division 
for  a  glebe. 

"There  is  one  Independent  Congregation  at  Eastchester, 
whose  minister  designs  to  leave  there,  whose  congregation 
upon  his  departure,  are  resolved  to  join  with  the  Church. " 

Under  date  of  December  12,  1706,  it  was  ordered  by  the 
justices,  church-wardens,  and  vestry  of  the  parish  to  finish 


The  Churches 


257 


the  church  at  a  cost  of  £17,  "in  good  and  current  money  of 
New  York  .  .  .  the  justices  and  vestry  to  find  boards,  and 
nails  and  hinges."  During  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Bartow,  he 
acquired  considerable  land  in  Westchester,  and  also  several 
thousand  acres  in  East  New  Jersey,  in  the  counties  of  Mon- 
mouth and  Middlesex,  which  he  devised  by  will  to  his  widow 
and  six  sons.  The  careers  of  the  sons  and  their  descendants 
show  that  the  rector  was  the  ancestor  of  a  line  of  clergymen 
of  the  Church  of  England  and  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of 
today. 

Mr.  Bartow  was  succeeded  in  1727  by  the  Reverend  Thomas 
Standard,  A.M.,  M.D.,  a  native  of  Taunton,  England.  The 
Society  had  appointed  him  their  missionary  at  Brookhaven, 
Long  Island,  in  1725,  and  assigned  him  to  Westchester  at  his 
own  request,  backed  by  that  of  those  in  authority.  He  was 
rector  of  the  parish  over  thirty-four  years,  dying  at  an  advanced 
age  in  1760.  In  1735,  he  had  a  difference  with  Mr.  Forster, 
the  schoolmaster,  and  charges  were  preferred  against  him 
by  some  of  his  parishioners.  The  Reverend  Mr.  Vesey  in- 
vestigated the  difficulty  and  reported  to  the  Society;  but  the 
affair  seems  to  have  adjusted  itself,  for  Mr.  Standard  remained 
as  rector.  During  his  incumbency,  the  church  building  was 
made  more  comfortable  by  putting  backs  to  the  pews,  and 
£70  were  raised  for  the  repair  of  the  church.  In  the  rector's 
report  of  1728  to  the  Society,  he  states:  "I  preach  one 
Sunday  at  Eastchester  and  another  at  Westchester,  twice  a 
day,  for  the  summer  half  year." 

The  Reverend  John  Milner,  a  native  of  New  York,  was 

installed  as  "Rector  of  the  Parish  Church  at  Westchester, 

commonly  called  St.  Peter's  Church,  including  the  several 

districts  of  Westchester,  Eastchester,  Yonkers,  and  the  Manor 

of  Pelham, "  under  orders  from  Lieutenant-Governor  Cadwal- 
17 


258  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


lader  Colden,  dated  June  30,  1761.  In  his  report  to  the 
Society  on  October  3,  1 761,  he  says: 

"  My  mission  is  of  large  extent;  and  I  am  obliged  to  attend 
three  churches,  and  till  Mr.  Houdin  came  to  New  Rochelle, 
officiated  there  once  a  month.  One  of  my  churches  is  a 
new  edifice,  raised  by  the  generosity  of  Colonel  Phillips.  I 
have  baptized  forty-three  white  infants  and  four  adults, 
twelve  black  children  and  three  adults.  My  communicants 
are  sixteen." 

Later,  June  29,  1762,  he  reports: 

"I  constantly  attend  three  churches,  in  three  different  town- 
ships, preaching  to  crowded  audiences  of  devout,  well-behaved 
people.  They  have  no  dissenters  among  them  except  a  few 
Quakers.  The  number  of  my  communicants  is  increased  to 
fifty-three." 

The  "new  edifice,  raised  by  the  generosity  of  Colonel 
Phillips"  was  St.  John's  Church  in  Yonkers.  It  was  erected 
into  a  separate  cure  in  1765,  when  the  Reverend  Harry  Munro 
was  appointed  rector;  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Reverend 
Luke  Babcock,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  White  Plains  Protest, 
whose  death  in  1777  was  accelerated,  so  it  is  said,  by  the 
ill-treatment  and  confinement  he  had  undergone  at  the  hands 
of  the  patriots. 

By  royal  charter  of  December  2,  1762,  St.  Peter's  at  West- 
chester was  incorporated  under  the  title  of  "The  Rector  and 
inhabitants  of  the  Borough  Town  of  Westchester,  in  Com- 
munion of  the  Church  of  England,  as  by  law  established." 
This  gave  them  the  right  to  sue  and  be  sued,  to  acquire  prop- 
erty, and  to  lease  or  otherwise  dispose  of  it,  as  well  as  power 
to  build  and  repair,  and  to  conduct  their  affairs  as  a  body 


The  Churches 


259 


corporate  and  politic  without  regard  to  the  authorities  and 
inhabitants  of  the  town.  The  names  of  the  incorporators  were 
Rector  John  Milner,  John  Bartow,  Isaac  Willett,  Lewis 
Morris,  Jr.,  Peter  De  Lancey,  Nathaniel  Underhill,  James 
Graham,  and  James  Van  Cortlandt,  a  list  which  includes  the 
most  prominent  names  of  the  Borough  of  colonial  times. 

Mr.  Milner  went  to  considerable  expense  in  1 764  to  repair  the 
parsonage  house  and  to  erect  new  barns  and  outhouses  upon 
the  glebe  lands.  In  addition,  the  church- wardens  notified 
the  Society  that 

"we  have  purchased  a  glebe  of  thirty  acres  with  a  house, 
which,  when  we  have  repaid  Mr.  Milner  the  expense 
he  has  been  at,  will  cost  us,  in  the  whole,  near  seven 
hundred  pounds,  which  we  spend  with  cheerfulness,  as  our 
minister's  behaviour  has  very  much  endeared  him  to  the 
people ;  and  his  diligence  has  been  attended  with  such  success, 
that  whole  families  of  Quakers — the  only  dissenters  in  this 
parish — have  conformed  to  the  Church. " 

In  the  fall  of  1765,  Mr.  Milner  severed  his  connection  with 
the  parish,  for  what  reason  does  not  clearly  appear,  though 
it  was  probably  due  to  a  difference  in  money  matters  between 
him  and  the  vestry,  who  were  slow  in  paying  him  the  money  he 
had  expended.  In  fact,  the  vestry  must  have  refused  to  pay 
him  at  all ;  for  in  his  letter  to  the  secretary  of  the  Society  from 
his  new  cure  in  Virginia,  under  date  of  February  3,  1768,  he 
says: 

"I  am  very  sorry  to  inform  you  that  the  people  of  West- 
chester pay  very  little  regard,  either  to  their  promises,  or 
the  Society's  expectations;  for  I  am  informed  by  my  lawyer 
that  they  absolutely  refuse  to  refund  me  one  penny  of  all 
the  money  I  have  expended  on  their  glebe,  which,  without 
the  repairs  and  buildings  I  made,  would  have  been  entirely 
useless. M 


260 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


The  Reverend  Samuel  Seabury  succeeded  to  the  rectorship 
near  the  end  of  1766,  after  a  vacancy  of  nearly  a  year.  He  was 
a  native  of  Groton,  Connecticut,  a  graduate  of  Yale  with  the 
degree  of  A.M.,  1748,  as  well  as  an  A.M.  of  King's  College, 
1 76 1.  He  was  for  some  time  a  catechist  of  the  Society, 
and  upon  being  recommended  to  the  cure  of  New  Brunswick 
in  East  New  Jersey,  he  went  to  London  for  holy  orders.  He 
served  at  New  Brunswick  from  1754  t°  1757,  when  he  was 
promoted  to  the  living  at  Jamaica,  Long  Island.  He  became 
rector  of  Westchester,  December  3,  1766.  He  is  spoken  of 
"as  a  youth  of  good  genius,  unblemished  morals,  sound  prin- 
ciples of  religion  and  one  that  hath  made  as  good  proficiency 
in  literature,  while  in  America,  as  the  present  state  of  learning 
there  would  admit  of ;  and  he  has  gone  for  his  improvement  to 
the  University  of  Edinburgh. " 

In  a  letter  to  the  secretary,  dated  June  25,  1767,  he  writes: 

"With  regard  to  the  income  of  this  parish,  the  salary,  by  an 
act  of  Assembly  is  £50  currency.  The  exchange  from  N.  Y. 
to  London  being  generally  from  £70  to  £80  for  £100  sterling. 
Burial  fees  here,  there  are  none;  but  the  more  wealthy  families 
sometimes  give  the  minister  a  scarf,  on  these  occasions.  Mar- 
riage fees  from  one  to  four  Spanish  dollars ;  but  far  the  greater 
number  go  to  an  Independent  teacher  in  the  Parish  of  Rye, 
because  the  ceremony  is  short,  and  they  have  nothing  to  say. 
Possibly  these  fees  may  amount  to  £5  or  £6  a  year.  ...  But 
there  are  many  families,  especially  among  the  lower  classes, 
who  do  not  pretend  to  be  of  any  religion  at  all. " 

Of  his  school,  of  his  participation  in  the  discussions  pre- 
ceding the  Revolution,  and  of  his  capture  by  Sears,  accounts 
will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Upon  his  return  from 
his  captivity  in  Connecticut,  he  took  up  his  residence  at  the 


The  Churches 


parsonage  in  fear  and  trembling,  as  he  was  closely  watched  by 
the  authorities.  Upon  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  he 
shut  up  his  church.  Upon  September  I,  1776,  after  lying 
hidden  for  some  time  in  the  Wilkins  house  with  Dr.  Chandler 
of  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  and  Dr.  Myles  Cooper,  President 
of  King's  College,  he,  with  his  companions,  took  advantage  of 
the  neck  being  unguarded  and  escaped  at  night  to  Long  Island. 
"Upon  finding  they  had  missed  him,  the  rebels  vented  their 
rage  on  his  church  and  his  property,  converting  the  former 
into  an  hospital,  tearing  off  the  covering  and  burning  the  pews; 
and  damaging  the  latter  to  the  value  of  three  hundred  pounds 
currency. " 

In  his  letter  of  November  12,  1777,  he  writes:  "That 
about  a  month  before,  I  had  visited  Westchester,  and  thought 
of  staying  the  winter  there,  but  was  obliged  to  drop  such 
intentions  on  General  Burgoyne's  defeat;  as  the  Rebels  upon 
that  event  came  to  that  town  by  night  and  carried  off  forty- 
two  of  the  inhabitants."  He  removed  from  Long  Island  to 
Staten  Island;  but  finding  it  "impracticable  to  return  to 
Westchester,  or  reside  on  Staten  Island,"  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  New  York  in  1778,  and  lived  there  until  the  end 
of  the  war,  acting  as  chaplain  of  Colonel  Fanning's  King's 
American  Regiment  of  Loyalists. 

In  1784,  he  went  to  England  for  consecration  as  bishop; 
but  the  English  bishops  discovered  that  they  could  not  legally 
consecrate  any  one  for  a  foreign  country  who  would  not  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  King,  which  Dr.  Seabury,  being 
now  an  American  citizen,  would  not  do.  The  laws  of  Scotland 
did  not  contain  any  such  provision,  so  Dr.  Seabury  went  there 
and  was  consecrated  bishop  at  Aberdeen.  In  the  summer  of 
1785,  he  returned  to  America  as  Bishop  of  Connecticut  and 
Rhode  Island,  and  took  up  his  abode  in  New  London,  where  he 


262 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


died  February  25,  1796,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-six, 
having  been  the  first  Bishop  of  the  Church  in  America,  con- 
secrated for  the  purpose. 

During  the  Revolution,  St.  Peter's  was  closed  so  far  as 
religious  services  were  concerned;  though  like  St.  Paul's  at 
East  Chester  and  the  Dutch  Church  at  Fordham,  it  was  used 
either  as  a  hospital  or  a  stable  by  the  British,  perhaps  both. 
No  services  were  held  for  thirteen  years,  and  the  church  edifice 
was  so  dilapidated  as  to  be  irreparable. 

On  April  6,  1784,  the  State  Legislature  passed  "An  act 
to  enable  all  religious  denominations  in  this  State  to  appoint 
trustees,  who  should  be  a  body  corporate  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  care  of  the  temporalities  of  their  respective  congrega- 
tions, and  for  other  purposes  therein  mentioned."  Under 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  St.  Peter's  was  incorporated  April 
19,  1788,  with  the  following  persons  as  trustees:  Lewis  Graham, 
Josiah  Browne,  Thomas  Hunt,  Israel  Underhill,  John  Bartow, 
Philip  I.  Livingston,  and  Samuel  Bayard. 

The  first  record  of  their  meeting  is  that  of  May  12,  1788, 
when  "it  was  resolved  that  the  old  church  be  sold  to  Mrs. 
Sarah  Ferris  for  the  sum  of  ten  pounds."  A  subscription 
paper  for  funds  to  build  a  new  church  was  circulated  among 
the  people,  and  an  appeal  was  made  to  the  Propagation  Society. 
By  1789,  enough  funds  were  in  hand  or  in  sight  to  warrant  the 
making  of  a  contract,  January  26th,  with  John  Odell,  carpen- 
ter, of  New  York  for  the  erection  of  a  church  edifice  for  the 
sum  of  £336.  The  new  edifice  was  built  on  the  site  of  the  old 
one  removed  by  Mrs.  Ferris,  and  was  ready  for  use  at  the  end 
of  the  year. 

The  trustees  called  the  Reverend  Theodosius  Bartow,  a 
grandson  of  the  first  rector,  for  two  years  from  January  2, 
1792.    He  was  to  preach  every  other  Sunday;  and  his  services 


The  Churches 


263 


during  the  short  time  of  his  engagement  were  very  acceptable. 
He  was  succeeded  by  the  Reverend  John  Ireland,  August  20, 
1794- 

On  January  20,  1795,  the  trustees  of  the  town  of  West- 
chester released,  for  the  sum  of  twenty  shillings,  unto  the 
trustees  of  the  Church  of  St.  Peter's 

"  all  that  certain  lot,  piece  and  parcel  of  ground  on  which  the 
Episcopal  Church  of  St.  Peter's  is  erected,  and  also  the  Bury- 
ing Ground  adjoining  the  said  church,  as  it  is  now  enclosed 
and  fenced,  and  which  has  heretofore  been  used  for  a  Burial 
Place  by  the  inhabitants  of  said  Township,  containing  about 
one  acre,  be  the  same  more  or  less. " 

August  2,  1795,  the  church  was  again  incorporated  under 
the  provisions  of  the  act  of  the  Legislature  of  March  7,  1795, 
for  the  relief  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  throughout 
the  State.  The  church-wardens  were  Isaac  Underhill  and 
Philip  I.  Livingston,  and  the  vestrymen,  John  Bartow,  Jr., 
Thomas  Bartow,  Oliver  De  Lancey,  Warren  De  Lancey, 
Joseph  Brown,  Jonathan  Fowler,  Robert  Heaton,  and  Nicholas 
Bayard.  Under  this  act,  the  vestry,  or  a  majority  of  them, 
had  full  power  to  call  and  induct  a  minister;  therefore,  at  the 
meeting  in  August,  1795,  the  Reverend  John  Ireland  was 
inducted  into  full  rectorship  by  confirming  to  him  the  tem- 
poralities of  his  position. 

Mr.  Ireland  continued  as  a  successful  minister  until  1797, 
during  which  time  the  church  edifice  was  consecrated,  Decem- 
ber 9,  1795,  by  the  Right  Reverend  Samuel  Provoost,  D.D., 
the  first  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  New  York.  Mr.  Ireland  was 
called  to  St.  Ann's  Church,  Brooklyn,  in  1798;  and  on  the 
seventh  of  June  of  the  same  year,  the  two  congregations  of 
St.  Peter's,  Westchester,  and  St.  Paul's,  Eastchester,  resolved 


264  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


to  unite  for  the  purpose  of  calling  a  clergyman.  Accordingly, 
on  March  9,  1799,  the  Reverend  Isaac  Wilkins  was  elected 
minister  of  the  two  congregations. 

Mr.  Wilkins  was  born  in  Jamaica  in  the  West  Indies  in 
1 74 1.  He  came  to  New  York  and  entered  King's  College 
(now  Columbia  University)  in  1756,  and  was  graduated  A.B. 
in  1760,  receiving  his  A.M.  degree  in  1763.  He  prepared 
himself  for  holy  orders,  but  did  not  take  them  until  1798.  He 
married  Isabella  Morris,  the  half-sister  of  Lewis,  the  manor- 
lord  of  Morrisania,  and  settled  on  Castle  Hill  Neck,*where  his 
house  still  stands.  Mr.  Wilkins's  family  and  education  gave 
him  a  considerable  position  in  the  town  of  Westchester,  which 
he  represented  in  the  Provincial  Assembly  from  1772  to  1775, 
in  the  exciting  days  before  the  Revolution.  As  such,  he  was 
the  leader  of  his  party  in  opposition  to  the  Whigs,  and  was  the 
author  of  the  White  Plains  Protest.  In  addition,  he  is  sup- 
posed to  have  written  the  loyalist  tracts  over  the  signature 
of  A.  W.  F.  (A  Westchester  Farmer),  which  were  ably  answered 
by  Alexander  Hamilton,  himself  a  West  Indian  and  still  in 
the  early  days  of  his  youth.  In  1775,  Wilkins  fled  to  England ; 
but  returned  to  Long  Island,  that  nursery  of  loyalists,  in 
1776,  and  resided  there  until  the  Peace  of  1783,  when,  with 
many  other  loyalists,  he  went  to  Nova  Scotia.  During  his 
exile  there,  in  1798,  he  was  ordained  deacon,  and  the  following 
year  was  called  to  the  church  at  Westchester.  Having  taken 
priest's  orders,  the  vestry  called  him  to  the  full  rectorship  of 
the  parish  on  July  22,  1801,  a  position  he  filled  until  his  death, 
February  5,  1830,  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine. 

On  account  of  his  great  age,  during  the  last  year  of  his 
ministry,  the  vestry  called  to  his  assistance  the  Reverend 
William  Powell,  B.A.,  who  succeeded  him  as  rector,  and  who 
held  the  position  until  his  death  at  the  age  of  sixty,  April 


The  Churches 


265 


29,  1849.  Mr.  Powell  was  the  fourth  minister  to  die  as  rector  t 
and  the  third  to  be  buried  in  the  churchyard. 

The  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Powell  was  filled 
by  the  election  of  the  Reverend  Charles  D.  Jackson,  A.M., 
who  had  been  assistant  to  the  late  rector.  He  became  rectoi 
June  28,  1849.  Shortly  afterwards,  a  new  parsonage,  costing 
six  thousand  dollars,  was  erected  upon  the  glebe  in  place  of 
the  old  one.  The  wooden  church  of  1790  was  destroyed  by 
fire  in  1854,  and  in  the  following  year,  a  stone  edifice  costing 
sixty  thousand  dollars  was  erected  in  its  place.  The  old  bell 
presented  by  Lewis  Morris  in  1706,  which  bore  upon  its  lip, 
"LEWIS  MORRIS  1677,"  was  destroyed  at  the  same  fire. 
Mr.  Jackson  served  until  1871,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the 
Reverend  Christopher  Wyatt,  D.D.,  who  served  until  his  death 
in  1879.  In  February  of  that  year,  the  church  edifice  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  caused  by  the  candles  about  the  altar  ignit- 
ing some  of  the  dry  evergreens  which  still  remained  from 
the  Christmas  decorations.  The  church  was  rebuilt  the  same 
year  upon  the  old  foundations,  but  was  somewhat  increased 
in  size,  thus  becoming  the  fourth  church. 

Dr.  Wyatt's  successor  was  the  Reverend  Joseph  H.  John- 
ston, A.M  ,  who  became  rector  in  1881,  the  position  having 
been  vacant  for  over  a  year  after  Dr.  Wyatt's  death.  Mr. 
Johnston  served  until  1886,  when  he  resigned  to  become 
Bishop  of  Los  Angeles,  California.  He  is  thus  the  second 
rector  ot  St.  Peter's  to  have  become  a  Bishop,  the  first  having 
been  Rector  Seabury. 

In  1887,  the  present  incumbent,  the  Reverend  Frank  M. 
Clendenin,  D.D.,  became  rector.  In  1894,  a  slight  fire  oc- 
curred in  the  church  from  the  furnace;  and  on  August  16, 
1899,  fire  once  more  destroyed  the  church  edifice,  the  cause 
being  presumably  accidental.    The  present  church,  the  fifth 


266  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 

on  the  same  site,  was  constructed  almost  immediately  on 
the  old  foundations,  but  became  a  more  imposing  structure 
by  the  addition  of  a  clerestory. 

All  five  of  the  church  edifices  have  occupied  approximately 
the  same  site,  which  was  originally  the  Town  Green.  The 
cemetery  adjoining  the  church  has  been  used  as  a  burying- 
ground  from  the  time  that  the  town  was  under  the  Dutch 
jurisdiction  as  Oostdorp.    Here,  not  only  do 

"The  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep," 

but  also  several  of  the  rectors,  and  many  of  those  whose  names 
were  famous  in  early  days,  members  of  the  families  of  Ferris, 
Pell,  Wilkins,  Honeywell,  De  Lancey,  Bayard,  Bowne,  Living- 
ston, Ludlow,  Morris,  Hunt,  and  others. 

The  communion  service,  consisting  of  a  silver  chalice  and 
paten,  was  presented  to  the  church  by  Queen  Anne  in  1706, 
during  the  rectorship  of  Mr.  Bartow.  In  addition,  the  Queen 
presented  a  Church  Bible,  a  Book  of  Homilies,  a  cloth  for  the 
pulpit,  and  a  communion  table.  The  communion  service 
and  several  manuscript  and  printed  sermons  of  the  early 
rectors  are  preserved  in  the  church,  probably  saved  from 
destruction  through  the  exertions  of  Dr.  Seabury  at  the  time 
church  services  were  suspended  during  the  Revolution. 
About  a  stone's  throw  to  the  south  of  the  church  edifice  is  a 
handsome  stone  building  used  as  a  chapel  and  Sunday-school, 
which  was  erected  about  1880,  at  a  cost  of  $18,000.  It 
occupies  the  site,  very  nearly,  of  the  ancient  court-house  and 
jail,  which  were  destroyed  by  fire  in  1758 

A  quarter  of  a  mile  south  of  the  church,  on  Westchester 
Avenue,  is  the  parsonage,  or  rectory,  which  was  built  about 
1850,  not  far  from  the  site  of  the  old  one  of  1763.  It  was 
extensively  repaired  and  enlarged  in  1 89 1  at  an  outlay  of 


The  Churches 


267 


over  nine  thousand  dollars.  It  occupies  a  portion  of  the 
ancient  glebe,  several  acres  of  which  surround  it. 

Until  1840,  Morrisania  was  attached  to  St.  Peter's  in  the 
support  of  a  minister.  In  that  year,  Gouverneur  Morris, 
Esq.,  of  Morrisania  founded  St.  Ann's;  and  on  July  17,  1841, 
he  made  a  deed  of  gift  of  the  church  and  the  plot  surrounding 
it  to  the  rector,  wardens,  and  vestrymen  of  the  new  Parish  of 
St.  Ann's,  Morrisania.  The  church  was  incorporated,  July 
20,  1841,  with  Robert  and  Lewis  Morris,  wardens,  and  Jacob 
Buckhout,  Daniel  Deveau,  Benjamin  Rogers,  Benjamin  M. 
Brown,  Edward  Leggett,  Lewis  G.  Morris,  and  Henry  W. 
Morris,  vestrymen.  The  church  is  at  St.  Ann's  Avenue  and 
East  140th  Street.    Bolton  says  (1848): 

"The  church  of  St.  Ann's  is  situated  in  a  picturesque  posi- 
tion, near  Old  Morrisania,  on  rising  ground,  overlooking  a 
clear  and  rapid  little  stream  [Mill  Brook],  hastening  to  join 
the  more  expanded  waters  of  the  East  River.  It  is  a  pleas- 
ing gothic  structure  of  marble,  and  comprises  a  nave  with 
two  aisles,  small  recess  chancel,  and  a  spire  over  the  southern 
end.  It  was  erected  by  the  present  Gouverneur  Morris,  Esq., 
in  a  field  on  his  own  estate,  which  for  some  time  had  been 
hallowed  as  containing  the  sepulchre  of  his  parents.  A  vault 
was  constructed  to  receive  his  remains.  A  tablet  in  the  chan- 
cel contains  the  following  inscription: 

"the  relics  of  the 
honorable  gouverneur  morris, 

A  name  illustrious  in  his  country's  annals,  were  laid  by  his 
faithful  widow. 

"In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1837,  she  joined  him  with  the 
dead;  and  over  her  remains  has  arisen  this  beautiful  Sanctuary, 
which  in  remembrance  of  her,  and  with  respectful  regard  to 
two  other  valued  relations  of  the  name,  was  called  St.  Ann's 


268  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 

Church,  from  the  blessed  St.  Anne  of  the  Gospel,  and  con- 
secrated by  that  name,  on  the  28th  day  of  June,  1841,  by 
Bishop  Onderdonk. " 

The  church  contains  several  beautiful  stained  glass  windows 
in  memory  of  various  members  of  the  Morris  family  and  their 
connections;  also  a  brass  tablet  on  the  right  side  of  the  chancel 
bearing  the  following  inscription: 

"gouverneur  morris, 
born  February  9,  18 13, 
died  August  20,  1888, 
Founder  of  this  Parish, 

To  which  he  gave  church  and  lands  for  the  glory  of  God  and 
in  memory  of  his  mother." 

st.  ann's  historic  dead 

Pioneers,   Statesmen,  Jurists,  Soldiers,  and  Sailors,  whose 
remains  repose  in  the  vaults  of  this  church. 

Capt.  Richard  Morris,  ob.  1672. 

An  officer  in  Cromwell's  army.  First  Proprietor  of 
Morrisania. 

Col.  Lewis  Morris,  ob.  1691. 

An  officer  in  Cromwell's  army.  Part  owner  of  Morris- 
ania.   Member  of  Governor  Dongan's  Council. 

Judge  Lewis  Morris,  ob.  May  21,  1746. 

First  Lord  of  the  Manor  of  Morrisania.  First  native- 
born  Chief  Justice  of  New  York.  First  Governor  of 
New  Jersey. 

Hon.  Lewis  Morris,  ob.  January  3,  1762. 

Member  of  Colonial  Assembly.  Judge  of  the  High 
Court  of  Admiralty. 

Gen.  Lewis  Morris,  ob.  January  22,  1798. 

Member  of  Continental  Congress.    Signer  of  the  Decla- 


The  Churches 


269 


ration  of  Independence.  Commander  of  Westchester 
Militia,  Continental  Army. 

Hon.  Gouverneur  Morris,  ob.  November  6,  18 16. 

Member  of  Provincial  and  Continental  Congresses.  One 
of  the  framers  of  Federal  and  New  York  Constitutions. 
Author  of  clause  in  New  York  Constitution  providing 
religious  freedom.  Washington's  Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary to  France.  Senator  of  the  United  States.  Pro- 
jector of  the  Erie  Canal. 

Judge  Richard  Morris,  ob.  April  11,  1810. 

Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  State  of  New  York. 
Member  of  both  houses  of  the  Legislature.  Champion 
of  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

Capt.  William  Walton  Morris,  ob.  April  5,  1832. 

Aide-de-camp  to  General  Anthony  Wayne.  Thanked 
by  Congress  for  gallantry  on  the  battlefield. 

Commodore  R.  Valentine  Morris,  U.  S.  N.,  ob.  May  13, 
1815. 

Veteran  of  the  War  of  18 12.  Commander  of  Mediter- 
ranean Squadron,  U.  S.  Navy. 

Lieut. -Col.  Lewis  Morris,  ob.  November  24,  1824. 
Aide-de-camp  to  General  Nathanael  Greene. 

Judge  Robert  Hunter  Morris,  ob.  October  23,  1855. 

Member  of  both  branches  of  New  York  Legislature. 
Recorder  New  York  City.  Postmaster  of  New  York 
City.  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Mayor  of  the 
City  of  New  York  for  three  terms.  Delegate  to  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  1846. 

Major  Gouverneur  Morris,  U.  S.  A.,  ob.  October  18, 1868. 
Veteran  of  the  War  with  Mexico;  promoted  for  gallant 
and  meritorious  services  at  Palo  Alto  and  at  Resaca  de 
la  Palma. 


270 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Major-Gen.  William  Walton  Morris,  U.  S.  A.,  ob.  Decem- 
ber ii,  1865. 

Veteran  of  Florida,  Mexican,  and  Civil  Wars;  promoted 
for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  at  Palo  Alto  and 
Resaca  de  la  Palma,  and  in  the  Civil  War. 
Lewis  Morris,  ob.  Sept.  30,  1863. 

One  of  the  incorporators  and  Warden  of  St.  Ann's  Church. 

GOUVERNEUR  MORRIS,  ESQ.,  ob.  August  28,  l888. 

Pioneer  in  railroad  building.    Founder  of  St.  Ann's 
Church  in  1841  in  memory  of  his  mother,  Ann  Carey 
Randolph  of  Roanoke,  Va.    First  Supervisor  of  the 
Town  of  Morrisania. 
Col.  Lewis  G.  Morris,  ob.  September  19,  1900. 

Member  of  the  War  Committee,  Westchester  Co. 
1 86 1-5 .  Instrumental  in  organizing  6th  New  York  Heavy 
Artillery.  President  of  New  York  State  Agricultural 
Society.  Member  of  the  first  vestry  of  St.  Ann's 
Church. 

Col.  Richard  M.  Hoe,  ob.  June  7,  1886. 

Inventor  of  the  Web  Perfecting  Printing  Press.  Vestry- 
man of  St.  Ann's  Church. 

Commander  Francis  Morris,  U.  S.  N.,  ob.  February  12, 1883. 
Veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  engaged  in  both  attacks  on 
Fort  Fisher.    Executive  Officer  of  the  Tennessee. 

Capt.  John  Pyne  Morris,  ob.  June  18,  1868. 

Veteran  of  the  Civil  War.  165th  N.  Y.  V.,  a  hero  of 
Port  Hudson. 

Lieut.  Gouverneur  Morris,  ob.  February  16,  1897. 

Veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  officer  of  Co.  H,  6th  N.  Y.  H.  A. 

"How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest. " 

Collins. 


The  Churches 


271 


In  earlier  days,  the  burial-place  of  the  family  was  near  the 
manor-house,  but  the  remains  were  all  removed  to  the  church, 
February  15,  1866.  In  the  graveyard  attached  to  the  church 
are  several  gravestones,  which  have  been  injured  and  defaced 
by  the  romping  children  of  this  thickly  settled  neighborhood, 
who  made  a  playground  of  the  church  property.  There  are 
also  several  vaults,  in  one  of  which,  that  nearest  the  church  on 
the  east,  lie  the  remains  of  the  famous  Gouverneur  Morris 
and  those  of  a  number  of  the  family.  The  Honorable  Gouver- 
neur Morris  died  November  6,  181 6;  and  by  his  direction  was 
buried  in  a  field  on  his  estate  overlooking  the  Mill  Brook,  the 
site  of  St.  Ann's  and  its  graveyard. 

St.  Paul's,  in  Washington  Avenue  near  170th  Street,  was 
formerly  included  within  St.  Ann's  parish,  and  was  begun  as  a 
chapel  July  8,  1849.  May  31,  1853,  it  severed  its  connection 
with  the  mother  church  and  was  organized  as  a  separate  parish 
under  the  title  of  St.  Paul's,  Morrisania  Village. 

Grace  Church,  West  Farms,  was  incorporated  December 
13,  1844.  The  credit  of  first  attempting  to  establish  an 
Episcopal  church  in  the  village  was  due  to  Miss  Margaret 
Hunt,  daughter  of  Thomas  Hunt,  fourth  in  descent  from 
Edward  Jessup,  one  of  the  original  patentees  of  West  Farms. 
The  corner-stone  of  the  church  was  laid  November  10,  1846, 
and  the  edifice  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  De  Lancey  of 
Western  New  York,  June  28,  1847. 

The  earlier  influx  of  settlers,  both  to  Throgmorton's  colony 
and  to  Westchester,  included  a  great  many  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  or  Quakers.  There  were  also  several 
settlements  of  Friends  on  Long  Island,  and  many  of  them  came 
into  the  county  and  founded  settlements,  as  in  Harrison's 
Purchase,  or  became  inhabitants  of  those  already  started.  In 
the  records  of  the  borough-town  of  Westchester,  and  in  the 


272 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


reports  of  the  rectors  of  St.  Peter's  to  the  Society  for  the  Pro- 
pagation of  the  Faith  in  Foreign  Parts,  we  find  constant 
allusions  to  them.  In  the  account  of  the  election  of  1733, 
we  have  read  of  the  attempt  to  deprive  them  of  their  votes. 

It  is  stated  that  the  first  meeting  in  America  of  the  Society 
of  Friend?  was  held  at  Westchester.  There  is  also  a  tradition 
that  George  Fox,  the  founder  of  the  sect,  preached  here  as 
early  as  1672. 

In  the  records  of  Westchester  County,  at  White  Plains, 
we  find  the  following: 

"Court  of  Sessions.    June  6  &  7,  1704.    Order  of  Court 
"Present:       Col.  Heathcot,  President  of  said  Ct., 


"Petition  &  Order. 

"Petition  by  Josiah  Hunt  and  John  Harriss,  and  Hors- 
man  Mullenox  in  behalf  of  People  called  Quakers  Shows 
that  in  obedience  to  an  Act  of  Parliament  made  in  the 
first  year  of  King  William  &  Queen  Mary,  requiring  that 
places  of  meetings  of  all  Protestant  Dissenters  for  their  wor- 
ship of  God  should  be  certified  by  the  People  to  the  General 
or  Quarter  Sessions  for  the  aforesaid  County  [Westchester] 
and  prays  that  in  obedience  to  said  Act  in  Westchester  at 
John  Harriss,  Jr.,  and  in  Mamaroneck  at  Samuel  Palmer's, 
to  be  recorded  for  places  of  their  meetings  for  worship  of  God. 

"Order  that  petition  be  recorded  and  that  the  meetings  of 
the  Dissenters  Protestants,  called  Quakers  shall  be  held  at 
John  Harriss'  in  Westchester  and  at  Samuel  Palmer's 
in  Mamaroneck." 

The  headquarters  of  the  Friends,  or  the  place  of  their  Yearly 
and  Quarterly  Meetings,  was  at  Flushing,  Long  Island,  in 
the  early  colonial  days.    The  Quarterly  meeting  of  March 


Joseph  Thealle 
John  Hunt 
Thomas  Pickney 


The  Churches 


273 


20,  1684,  recognizes  the  fact  that  there  had  been  meetings  for 
the  worship  of  God  before  that  year,  and  decided  that  "  ffriends 
at  Yorke  Gravesend  and  ffiushing  &  Westchester,  ye  Kills 
&  Newtown  doe  all  belonge  unto  one  Monthly  meeting" 
(which  was  that  of  Flushing). 

In  the  year  1707,  the  Yearly  Meeting  appointed  a  committee 
to  purchase  a  house  of  Richard  Ward  in  Westchester;  and 
they  reported  at  the  Quarterly  Meeting  on  June  30,  1707, 
that  the  same  had  been  bought  for  a  meeting-house.  In 
November,  17 16,  a  Preparative  Meeting  was  established  in 
Westchester  County  for  Friends  in  Rye  and  Mamaroneck ; 
and  the  borough-town  remained  a  part  of  this  meeting  until 
February  14,  1787,  when  it  was  set  off  by  itself;  it  became  a 
part  of  the  New  York  Monthly  Meeting  August  7,  1836, 
and  was  laid  down,  February  29,  i860.  The  Flushing  Yearly 
Meeting  appointed  Monthly  Meeting  to  be  held  in  Westchester 
on  the  ninth  day  of  the  fourth  month  (April),  1725  ;  and  in 
the  town  records  of  1723,  mention  is  made  of  the  "Quaker 
meeting-house. " 

In  his  letter  of  April  14,  17 14,  Mr.  Bartow  speaks  of  the 
father  of  a  child  dying  of  measles  as  a  "half  Quaker."  The 
Reverend  Mr.  Standard,  under  date  of  November  5,  1729, 
says:  "The  church  at  Westchester  was  built  by  the  Quakers 
(who  were  the  first  settlers  in  this  place,  and  are  still  the 
most  numerous  party  in  and  about  it ;  and  indeed  the  whole 
parish  as  to  their  manners,  are  somewhat  Quakerish)  and  by 
them  given  to  Colonel  Heathcote,  for  the  use  and  service  of 
the  Church  of  England."    He  continues: 

"As  to  their  religion,  those  who  settled  in  Westchester, 

some  were  Quakers,  those  in  Eastchester  were  New  England 

Independents.  ...  In  my  parish  are  two  meeting-houses, 

one  of  which  is  of  Quakers,  built  within  a  stone's  throw  of 
18 


274 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


the  church,  and  indeed  is  a  better  building  than  that.  .  .  . 
To  the  third  head  of  enquiry,  I  say  there  are  three  meeting- 
houses in  my  parish — one  of  the  Quakers  at  Westchester,  one 
of  the  Dutch,  from  it  three  miles  west  [Fordham],  and  one 
of  the  French  at  New  Rochelle.  .  .  .  The  Quakers  preach 
against  hireling  priests,  and  pretend  to  give  nothing  to  their 
teachers." 

In  Mr.  Seabury's  letter  of  June  25,  1767,  he  says:  "The 
professed  dissenters  in  this  parish  are  not  numerous;  some 
Calvinists  or  Presbyterian  French  at  New  Rochelle;  a  few 
Presbyterians  at  Eastchester,  and  some  Quakers ;  at  West- 
chester, a  good  many  Quakers."  So  that  it  does  not  seem 
that,  as  time  passed,  there  was  much  decrease  in  the  number 
of  Friends.  The  Revolution  played  havoc  with  them,  though 
probably  not  to  so  great  an  extent  as  with  other  denominations, 
owing  to  their  tenet  of  non-resistance.  That  a  Quaker  can 
break  away  from  his  doctrines  and  take  up  the  sword  is 
shown  in  the  case  of  one  of  our  great  Revolutionary  generals, 
Nathanael  Greene  of  Rhode  Island ;  and  it  is  likely  that  many 
of  the  Westchester  Quakers  took  up  arms  for  King  George  or 
for  the  Congress. 

The  old  Quaker  meeting-house  formerly  stood  immediately 
south  of  the  ancient  burying-ground.  It  was  probably  erected 
before  1700,  and  was  at  first  used  by  the  Orthodox  Friends, 
but  later  by  the  Hicksite  party.  About  1828,  the  Orthodox 
Friends  erected  another  meeting-house  on  the  opposite  side 
of  Westchester  Avenue.  Nothing  remains  of  either  except 
the  foundations  of  the  older  one,  they  both  having  been 
destroyed  by  incendiary  fires  on  the  same  night  in  the  spring 
of  1893.  For  several  years  before  their  destruction,  they  had 
been  unused ;  but  the  inhabitants  of  Westchester  felt  consider- 
able pride  in  the  ancient  landmarks. 


The  Reformed  Dutch  Church  on  the  Kingsb ridge  Road,  Fordham. 


The  Churches  275 

Shortly  before  annexation,  a  series  of  incendiary  fires  oc- 
curred in  the  town;  and  barns,  stables,  and  outhouses  began 
to  burn  up  with  alarming  frequency.  The  incendiaries  had  a 
regular  organization,  with  president,  secretary,  etc.,  and  stated 
meetings  at  which  the  places  to  be  fired  were  selected  and  lots 
drawn  as  to  who  should  light  them.  The  incendiaries  were 
recruited  from  the  tough  element  of  the  town,  who  set  the 
fires  for  the  sake  of  the  excitement,  and,  incidentally,  to 
pillage.  Among  the  buildings  so  fired  were  the  two  Quaker 
meeting-houses.  A  more  flagrant  and  wanton  piece  of  van- 
dalism it  is  hard  to  imagine.  An  attempt  was  also  made  to 
fire  the  Sunday-school  building  of  St.  Peter's,  and  it  was 
suspected  that  the  church  itself  might  be  a  probable  subject. 
The  gang  of  firebugs  was  finally  broken  up.  Whether  some  of 
them  belonged  to  the  volunteer  fire  company  or  not,  is  still 
a  question  with  the  respectable  inhabitants. 

The  Dutch  were  members  of  the  Established  Reformed 
Church.  We  therefore  look  to  the  manor  of  Fordham, 
principally  settled  by  Dutch  from  Harlem,  for  the  beginnings 
of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church. 

"Little  is  known  concerning  the  early  history  of  religion 
in  the  manor,  except  that  in  1671,  'the  inhabitants  residing 
between  the  two  Kills  of  Harlem  and  the  Broncks, '  were 
obliged  to  contribute  towards  the  support  of  a  minister  when 
one  should  be  settled  or  called  to  the  manor  of  Fordham" 
(Bolton). 

In  1673,  the  Dutch  recaptured  New  York,  and  the  inhabi- 
tants of  John  Archer's  village  of  Fordham  immediately  pe- 
titioned Governor  Colve  and  his  council  for  relief  from  the 
exactions  of  their  "land-heer, "  or  manor-lord.  The  following 
was  granted : 


276 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


"The  inhabitants  of  the  village  of  Fordham  are,  by  a 
majority  of  votes,  to  choose  a  number  of  six  persons  of  the 
best  qualified  inhabitants,  and  only  those  of  the  Reformed 
Christian  religion,  as  magistrates  of  the  aforesaid  village, 
and  to  present  the  aforesaid  nominations,  by  the  first  oppor- 
tunity; to  the  Governor-General,  from  which  he  shall  make  the 
election.  They  are  recommended  to  take  care  that  at  least 
half  of  the  nominated  are  of  the  Dutch  nation.  Done  in  this 
village  of  New  Harlem,  4th  of  October,  1673. 

Johannes  Verveelen,  as  Schepen  and  Secretary."1 

It  will  be  remembered  that  after  Archer's  death,  his  manor 
became  the  property  of  Cornelius  Steenwyck,  the  mortgagee, 
who  left  it  to  the  Lower  Dutch  Church  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  This  church  was  formed  within  the  fort  at  New 
Amsterdam  in  1628;  its  successor  is  the  present  Collegiate 
Reformed  Church  of  New  York.  The  Collegiate  Church 
organized  a  society  on  its  property  at  Fordham  in  May,  1696, 
and  the  Reverend  John  Montaigne  was  installed  as  pastor, 
with  Henricus  Selyns,  William  Beekman,  Johannes  Kerbyle, 
Johannes  Depeyster,  Jacobus  Kipp,  Isaac  de  Forrest,  and 
Isaac  de  Reyners  as  elders  and  deacons. 

The  first  church  edifice  was  built  in  1706  through  the 
liberality  of  Margaretta  Steenwyck,  William  Dyckman,  and 
others;  the  building  stood  on  the  farm  of  James  Valentine, 
later  the  property  of  Moses  Devoe,  at  what  is  now  Fordham 
Road  and  Sedgwick  Avenue.  At  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
crossing  of  these  two  roads  formerly  stood  the  ancient  Dutch 
burying- ground;  an  ancient  willow  tree,  whose  girth  was  over 
twenty  feet,  stood  at  the  corner  of  the  lot,  with  the  unmark- 
ed, broken,  and  sunken  tombstones  behind  it.  The  church 
stood  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Fordham  Road,  on  what 

1  Johannes  Verveelen,  schepen  or  constable,  was  the  ferryman  at  the 
Spuyten  Duyvil  ferry. 


The  Churches 


277 


is  now  the  property  of  Webb's  Shipbuilding  Academy  and 
Home. 

The  first  pastor  resigned  his  charge,  and  was  succeeded  by 
the  Reverend  Henricus  Beyse,  who,  about  1709,  also  resigned 
his  position  and  became  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England. 
Judge  Lewis  Morris,  writing  to  the  Propagation  Society  in 
that  year,  says: 

"I  have  used  some  endeavours  to  persuade  the  Dutch  in  my 
neighborhood  into  a  good  opinion  of  the  Church  of  England; 
and  have  had  that  success,  that  they  would,  I  believe,  join  a 
great  part  of  them  in  the  sacraments  and  worship — had  they 
Dutch  Common  Prayer  books  and  a  minister  who  understood 
their  language.  I  have  taken  some  pains  with  one  of  their 
ministers,  one  Henricus  Beyse,  and  have  prevailed  on  him 
to  accept  of  Episcopal  ordination." 

It  seems  that  the  Reverend  Mr.  Beyse  did  not  have  an 
altogether  happy  time  of  it  after  he  had  changed  his  mode  of 
worship;  for,  in  1 7 12,  Governor  Hunter  was  petitioned  by  the 
clergy  of  the  Established  Church  to  do  something  for  the 
relief  of  the  unfortunate  gentleman,  who  not  only  "suffers 
hardships,  having  no  salary  from  the  people  of  New  Harlem, 
where  he  officiates,"  but  also  is  financially  neglected  by  the 
Propagation  Society  "through  some  aspersions  thrown  upon 
him  by  his  adversaries." 

The  congregation,  no  doubt,  had  considerable  difficulty  in 
maintaining  a  pastor  during  colonial  times,  as  there  is  no  re- 
cord of  a  fixed  pastor  between  1709  and  1766;  though  Dominies 
Dubois,  Boel,  Ritzema,  and  De  Ronde  visited  and  supplied 
the  church.  Dominie  John  Peter  Tetard  bought  his  farm  at 
Kingsbridge  in  1763,  and  came  to  live  there  in  1766,  and  from 
this  time  until  the  Revolution,  he  occupied  the  pulpit.  At 


278 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


the  beginning  of  the  struggle,  he  joined  his  former  neigh- 
bor Montgomery  in  the  expedition  to  Canada,  serving  as  a 
chaplain. 

During  the  war,  the  church  edifice  suffered  the  usual  disas- 
ters ;  and  being  close  to  the  camp  of  Emmerick  and  his  chas- 
seurs, probably  served  as  a  hospital  and  stable,  like  all  the 
other  churches.  At  a  classis  of  the  Reformed  Church  held  in 
Flatbush  on  September  2,  1800,  it  was  resolved, 

"that  the  church  in  the  manor  of  Fordham,  being  reduced  dur- 
ing the  war,  and  a  prospect  now  opening  of  its  being  restored, 
that  the  Classis  encourage  and  countenance  them,  by  assisting 
and  supplying  them.  Resolved  further,  that  Dr.  Livingston 
visit  and  preach  to  them  as  soon  as  convenient." 

A  new  church  edifice  was  erected  in  1801  near  the  site  of 
the  present  church  on  the  Kingsbridge  Road.  In  1802,  Dr. 
Livingston  reported  that  he  had  fulfilled  his  appointment 
and  reorganized  the  church,  and  the  classis  sent  the  Reverend 
John  Jackson  to  take  charge.  He  was  regularly  called  to  the 
church  and  installed  as  pastor,  and  the  congregation  grew 
apace.  His  term  of  service  ended  in  1835,  since  which  time 
there  have  been  ten  pastors,  including  the  present  incumbent, 
the  Reverend  Joseph  Merlin  Hodson,  who  has  served  since 
1894. 

The  land  upon  which  the  church  edifice  of  1801  was  erected 
was  a  gift  from  Dennis  Valentine,  Senior.  In  1848,  the 
present  church,  the  third  edifice,  was  erected  immediately 
adjoining  the  second  church,  on  land  given  by  Dennis  Valen- 
tine, Junior.  In  1878,  Horace  B.  Claflin,  Esq.,  whose  property 
lay  just  north  of  the  church,  gave  the  funds  for  the  enlargement 
of  the  building.  The  records  of  the  church  and  of  the  con- 
gregation were  unfortunately  destroyed  several  years  ago  by  a 


The  Churches 


279 


fire  in  the  home  of  one  of  the  members  of  the  congregation, 
in  whose  custody  they  were. 

The  earliest  settlers  within  the  Borough,  those  coming  from 
Connecticut,  were  variously  called  Presbyterians,  Congrega- 
tionalists,  and  Independents;  they  may,  for  the  purposes  of 
this  article,  be  grouped  under  the  first  name. 

In  1692,  at  Eastchester,  Samuel  Casting  was  chosen  "to 
read  the  bibell  and  other  good  sermon-books,  and  so  carion 
[carry  on]  the  sabath  days  Exercises  as  according  to  our 
Honorable  Col.  Heathcuts  order  unto  us";  for  which  he  was 
to  receive  a  certain  compensation  to  be  contributed  by  the  peo- 
ple. The  ministers,  or  readers,  who  officiated  at  Westchester 
— Mr.  Baly,  Mr.  Morgan,  and  Mr.  Fogg — were  also  Dissent- 
ers ;  and  we  have  already  read  how  Colonel  Heathcote  prevented 
the  induction  of  Warham  Mather,  also  a  Presbyterian. 

The  act  of  1693  "to  establish  a  good,  sufficient  minister" 
in  each  parish  was  construed  by  Governor  Fletcher  to  mean 
a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England,  which  thus  became  the 
Established  Church  of  the  Province.  The  ministers  at  both 
Westchester  and  Eastchester  were  turned  out,  and  the  churches 
became  Episcopalian  with  the  Reverend  Mr.  Bartow  as  rector. 
He  complained  to  Lord  Cornbury,  the  Governor,  that  he  had 
some  difficulty  at  Eastchester  in  superseding  the  Reverend 
Joseph  Morgan  in  1702.  Mr.  Morgan  removed  from  East- 
chester in  1708. 

William  Tennant,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  between  the 
years  171 8  and  1721,  attempted  to  evangelize  this  section, 
and  spent  several  months  at  Eastchester.  In  the  letters  of 
the  Westchester  rectors  to  the  Propagation  Society,  there  are 
also  references  to  the  preaching  of  Presbyterian  and  Indepen- 
dent ministers  within  their  cure;  and  also  to  the  activity  of 
some  Dissenting  preachers,  who  are  called  "new  lights." 


28o 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Though  in  other  parts  of  the  Province  strenuous  objections 
were  made  by  the  inhabitants  to  both  the  Governor  and  the 
Assembly  about  being  turned  out  of  their  churches,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  two  places  within  the  Borough  acquiesced  silently 
in  the  change, — except  for  slight  trouble  with  Mr.  Morgan  at 
Eastchester — owing  to  the  influence  of  Colonel  Heathcote  and 
the  moderation  of  Mr.  Bartow;  and  the  edifices  became 
Episcopalian  and  are  so  to  this  day. 

That  the  Established  Church  was  not  popular,  even  at  a 
later  day,  is  shown  by  the  proceedings  of  the  Assembly  of 
1769;  in  which  Colonel  Lewis  Morris,  representative  from  the 
borough-town  of  Westchester,  introduced  a  bill  to  exempt 
Protestants  of  all  denominations  from  the  support  of  the 
Episcopal  Church ;  John  Thomas,  of  the  county  of  Westchester, 
a  bill  to  exempt  Protestants  from  compulsory  taxation  for  the 
support  of  churches,  and  Charles  De  Witt,  of  Ulster  County, 
a  bill  to  exempt  the  inhabitants  of  the  counties  of  Westchester 
New  York,  Queens,  and  Richmond  from  the  payment  of  taxes 
for  the  support  of  churches  to  which  they  did  not  belong. 
All  of  these  bills  passed  the  Legislature,  but  failed  to  become 
laws  on  account  of  their  rejection  by  the  Governor  and  his 
council.  The  Governor  further  refused  to  allow  the  incor- 
poration of  Presbyterian  churches,  even  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  which  put  the  several  existing  congregations  to  much 
inconvenience. 

During  the  colonial  period,  some  of  the  churches  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  county  were  comprised  within  the  pres- 
byteries of  Connecticut  or  of  Dutchess  (Putnam)  County;  but 
even  thirty  years  after  the  Revolution,  little  or  nothing  was 
done  in  the  lower  part  of  the  county,  and  it  was  considered  a 
good  field  for  missionary  work  by  the  New  York  Presbytery. 
In  1 814,  the  Reverend  Isaac  Lewis  divided  his  time  between 


The  Churches 


New.  Rochelle  and  West  Farms  engaged  in  such  work ;  and  in 
the  following  year,  1815,  a  church  edifice  was  erected  at  West 
Farms.  Four  members  organized  the  church  on  December 
4,  1 8 16;  and  the  congregation  was  fully  organized  by  the  elec- 
tion of  officers  on  November  5,  181 8.  The  ancient  edifice, 
the  oldest  in  the  city  belonging  to  Presbyterians,  and  its 
churchyard,  stand  on  East  180th  Street,  a  short  distance  west 
of  the  Boston  Road  and  the  site  of  De  Lancey's  Mills.  In 
1903,  Charles  Bathgate  Beck,  Esq.,  left  a  legacy  to  the  church, 
and  a  fine  stone  edifice  with  an  imposing  tower  was  erected 
on  the  land  directly  opposite  the  old  church  building,  which 
was  for  a  time  given  over  to  a  colored  congregation.  The  new 
church  is  known  as  the  Beck  Memorial  Presbyterian  Church. 

In  1829,  the  Presbytery  of  Bedford  included  the  Presby- 
terian churches  of  Putnam  and  Westchester  counties;  but 
by  1854,  the  lower  county  was  within  the  Second  New  York 
Presbytery.  By  this  date,  the  section  north  of  the  Harlem 
River  was  making  great  strides  in  population,  and  the  Presby- 
tery therefore  organized  a  church  at  Tremont. 

On  the  muster  roll  of  the  Westchester  company  commanded 
by  Captain  Isaac  Corsa  between  May  and  December,  1755, 
there  appear  a  number  of  Irish  names,  which,  according  to 
Father  D.  P.  O'Neil  in  his  monograph  on  Catholicism  in 
Westchester  County,  were  presumably  also  the  names  of 
Catholics.  This  company  accompanied  the  expedition  of  Sir 
William  Johnson  to  Lake  George,  but  returned  without  seeing 
further  active  service.  Later  companies  that  took  part  in 
the  French  and  Indian  War  also  had  Irishmen,  or  men  of 
Irish  names,  in  their  ranks;  and  there  is,  therefore,  strong 
probability  that  there  were  Roman  Catholics  within  the 
Borough  between  1755  and  1760. 

In  the  former  year  occurred  the  dispersion  of  the  Acadians, 


282 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


so  feelingly  described  in  Longfellow's  poem  of  Evangeline. 
These  poor  unfortunates  seem  to  have  been  treated  with 
the  utmost  rigor  and  unkindness  in  every  colony  into  which 
their  wanderings  took  them;  and  New  York  was  no  different 
from  the  others.  They  were  called  by  the  colonists  "French 
Neutrals/'  Between  May  and  August,  1756,  there  is  a  rec- 
ord of  sixteen  of  them  being  sent  to  Eastchester,  and  of  nine 
of  them  being  in  the  Westchester  jail,  where  they  had  been 
placed  by  the  authorities  for  no  other  crime  than  that  of  being 
Acadians.  The  women  and  children  of  the  party  were  thus 
thrown  on  their  own  resources  and  became  a  burden  to  the 
town,  so  that  the  latter  were  separated  from  their  parents 
and  bound  out  to  service.  As  the  French  war  was  in 
progress  at  the  time,  there  might  have  been  some  excuse 
for  their  harsh  treatment  for  fear  of  their  giving  assistance  to 
their  countrymen  in  Canada;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that,  in 
the  popular  mind,  these  simple  peasants  were  imbued  with 
the  intent  as  well  as  the  desire  to  injure  their  oppressors.  It 
is  hard  to  account  for  popular  delusions,  as  the  Salem  witch- 
craft and  the  vogue  of  Titus  Oates  show.  The  New  York 
Mercury  of  July  1 1,  1757,  contains  the  following  item:  "We 
hear  that  a  party  of  French  Neutrals,  who  had  been  for  some 
time  past  at  or  near  Westchester,  made  their  escape  from  that 
place,  and  were  taken  up  at  or  near  Fort  Edward  on  their 
way  to  Crown  Point." 

These  poor  wanderers  were,  of  course,  Catholics;  and  it  is 
stated  that  Father  Farmer,  an  alias  for  Father  Steinmeyer, 
passed  through  Westchester  in  disguise  and  visited  them  in 
their  captivity  and  gave  to  them  the  consolations  of  their 
religion. 1  He  was  a  Jesuit  priest  attached  to  the  Pennsylvania 
and  New  Jersey  missions;  and,  as  the  laws  were  very  strict 

1  See  the  author's  novel,  A  Princess  and  Another. 


The  Churches 


283 


against  these  priests  and  the  penalties  very  severe,  he  was 
obliged  to  go  in  disguise  and  exercise  great  caution  in  minis- 
tering to  the  people  of  his  faith  in  and  about  the  city  of  New 
York  before  the  Revolution.  It  was  not  until  the  year  1784 
that  the  authorities  permitted  the  unconcealed  performance  of 
the  rites  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

On  July  1,  1 78 1,  the  French  army  arrived  at  Bedford  from 
Newport.  There  were  several  chaplains  with  it,  the  best 
known  being  the  Abbe  Robin,  who  has  left  some  interesting 
records  of  his  impressions  of  the  people  and  of  the  country  in 
letters  sent  to  France  and  afterwards  published  there.  On 
July  3,  1 78 1,  the  French  took  part  in  the  attack  upon  Kings- 
bridge,  and  between  that  date  and  August  twenty-fifth,  the 
Abbe  Robin  and  the  other  chaplains  officiated  at  services  at 
several  places  within  the  county,  and,  perhaps,  within  the 
Borough ;  if  so,  these  would  have  been  the  first  open  exercises 
of  the  Catholic  religion. 

As  regards  the  subsequent  history  of  Catholicism  in  the 
county,  up  to  the  year  1840,  the  matter  is  almost  entirely 
traditional;  and  Father  D.  P.  O'Neil,  who  has  made  a  thorough 
study  of  the  whole  matter,  and  to  whom  the  author  is  under 
obligations  for  the  greater  part  of  this  subject,  could  find  very 
few  facts  to  go  on  previous  to  the  above  date.  The  Reverend 
Mr.  Bolton,  who  disliked  the  Catholic  Church  and  its  minis- 
ters, took  very  few  pains  to  inquire  about  its  history,  or  else 
antagonized  its  priests  into  not  giving  historic  information 
within  their  knowledge,  owing  to  his  antipathetic  attitude,  at 
the  time  he  was  making  researches  for  his  comprehensive 
History  of  Westchester  County.  As  already  stated  above,  the 
laws  against  the  Catholics  were  very  rigorous  in  the  later 
colonial  days,  and  in  addition,  there  was  also  a  strong  pre- 
judice, or  dislike,  on  the  part  of  the  general  population — this 


284  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


has  already  been  suggested  in  describing  the  treatment  of  the 
Acadians.  The  only  Catholics  likely  to  come  to  the  colony 
would  be  the  English-speaking  Irish;  and  they  seem  to  have 
been  employed  only  by  the  Quakers,  whose  doctrines  taught 
more  liberality  of  thought  than  did  those  of  the  Established 
Church.  It  is  also  stated  that  some  of  the  wealthier  inhabi- 
tants had  for  household  servants  slaves  brought  from  Louis- 
iana, and,  perhaps,  from  Martinique.  This  was  for  the 
purpose  of  having  their  children  learn  the  French  language, 
as  after  our  own  Revolution  and  the  growth  of  free  ideas 
in  France,  there  grew  up  an  admiration  of  everything 
French. 

In  1784,  the  first  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  New  York, 
St.  Peter's  in  Barclay  Street,  was  established,  and,  later,  in 
1 81 7,  St.  Patrick's  in  Mulberry  Street.  It  is  known  that  the 
Catholics  living  at  the  upper  end  of  Manhattan  made  trips, 
frequently  on  foot,  to  attend  services  at  one  of  these  churches; 
and  it  is  more  than  likely  that  the  few  and  scattered  Catholics 
living  within  what  is  now  the  Borough  did  likewise,  as  late  as 
1833.  In  !834,  the  church  of  St.  Paul  was  established  in 
Harlem,  and  the  Catholics  of  the  vicinity  looked  upon  it  as  a 
great  convenience  and  blessing,  as  saving  a  long  journey  to  get 
the  comforts  of  their  religion.  In  1839,  the  priests  of  St. 
Paul's  were  making  monthly  trips  to  the  section  above  the 
Harlem  River,  which  was  considered  as  an  out-mission  of 
their  church. 

As  mentioned  elsewhere,  the  first  authenticated  performance 
of  the  services  of  the  Church  was  at  Clason's  Point,  where  the 
last  rites  were  administered  to  Dominick  Lynch  by  Bishop 
Connolly  in  1825.  In  many  cases,  the  desire  of  a  Catholic 
to  lie  in  consecrated  ground  has  led  to  the  establishment  of 
graveyards,  in  which,  or  near  which,  a  church  would  afterwards 


The  Churches 


285 


be  established.  This  may  have  been  the  case  with  some  of 
the  churches  in  Westchester  County. 

In  1840,  St.  John's  College  was  established  at  Fordham, 
and,  though  the  chapel  there  was  for  the  use  of  the  priests  and 
students,  worship  was  permitted  to  the  Catholics  of  the  vi- 
cinity as  a  chapel  of  convenience.  In  1843,  the  college  came 
under  control  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  whose  priests  engaged 
in  missionary  work  throughout  the  county.  The  same  year 
the  first  church  within  the  Borough,  that  of  St.  Raymond,  was 
established  at  Westchester  by  an  Italian  priest  named  Father 
Villanis.  The  first  burial  in  the  adjoining  graveyard  had 
taken  place  the  year  previous.  The  fine  church  edifice  on  the 
site  of  the  original  one  was  dedicated  on  October  23,  1898. 
In  1844,  the  first  mass  was  celebrated  at  Kingsbridge  by  Father 
O'Reilly;  and  in  1848  Father  McGuire  officiated  there. 
There  is  an  interesting  fact  in  regard  to  early  worship  at  Kings- 
bridge,  and  that  is  that  owing  to  the  lack  of  proper  rooms  for 
the  use  of  the  different  denominations,  the  services  were  all 
held  in  the  schoolhouse.  Mass  would  be  celebrated  in  the 
morning,  and  the  Catholic  altar  would  be  removed;  in  the 
afternoon,  the  Episcopalians  would  hold  their  services,  and 
in  the  evening,  the  Methodists. 

Until  about  1840,  Catholic  communicants  had  been  few 
in  number,1  but  about  1837  there  began  the  construction  of 
the  great  public  works — the  Harlem  Railroad,  the  Hudson 
River  Railroad,  and  the  Croton  Aqueduct.  This  brought 
in  great  numbers  of  Irish,  most  of  whom  were  Catholics;  and 
so  the  Catholic  population  increased  very  rapidly  in  the  decade 

1  A  good  Catholic  desires  to  be  buried  in  consecrated  ground,  and  we  may 
use  the  number  of  burials  recorded  in  the  Catholic  cemetery  in  New  York 
as  a  criterion  to  judge  of  the  number  of  Catholics.  Of  the  number  re- 
corded from  beyond  the  Harlem  between  the  years  18 13  and  1833,  the 
average  is  just  one  a  year. 


286 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


between  1838  and  1848.  In  this  latter  year  occurred  the 
revolutions  in  the  German  states  of  Europe,  followed  by  the 
immigration  of  thousands  of  Germans,  who  generally  settled 
as  farmers.  Many  of  these  were  Catholics;  and  in  1852,  the 
Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  was  established  at 
Melrose  Avenue  and  East  150th  Street  with  a  German 
pastor. 

Although  George  Whitefield,  the  famous  preacher  and 
evangelist,  preached  to  the  assembled  tenants  of  the  Van 
Cortlandts  at  the  manor-house  on  the  Croton  River  before 
the  Revolution,  and  though  the  manor-house  often  entertained 
the  eminent  preachers  of  the  Methodist  faith,  such  as  Asbury 
and  Garretson,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  new  doctrines  made 
progress  in  that  part  of  the  county  now  included  within  the 
Borough.  It  is  more  than  likely,  however,  that  the  itin- 
erant preachers  of  the  Methodist  persuasion,  the  "circuit- 
riders"  of  a  later  day,  visited  and  preached  within  the 
Borough. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  several  acts  of  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  in  regard  to  the  incorporation  of 
churches.  Under  the  act  of  March  27,  1801,  the  Methodists 
of  Westchester  organized  a  church  on  March  8,  1808,  under 
the  name  of  Zion  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  the  town  of 
Westchester.  There  had  been,  however,  a  congregation  for 
some  short  time  before.  The  church  edifice  was  erected  about 
1 818.  The  church  was  re-incorporated  on  October  26,  1826; 
but  it  does  not  seem  to  have  flourished,  as  the  church 
corporation  was  dissolved  by  reason  of  non-user.  A  second  re- 
incorporation was  effected  on  February  7,  1833,  when  the  con- 
gregation assembled  in  the  edifice  used  by  them  for  divine 
worship  and  resolved  that  the  society  in  future  should  be 
called  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Zion,  in  the  town  of 


The  Churches 


287 


Westchester.  The  church  edifice  is  situated  on  the  road  leading 
to  West  Farms  (Walker  Avenue),  and,  like  so  many  of  the 
older  churches,  has  a  small  graveyard  adjoining. 

As  early  as  1826,  there  was  a  small  congregation  of  Methodists 
in  Kingsbridge  who  met  in  a  small  schoolhouse  on  the  westerly 
side  of  the  Albany  Post-road  (Broadway)  at  Mosholu,  which 
lies  west  of  the  parade-ground  at  Van  Cortlandt  Park.  On 
February  14,  1835,  the  society  was  incorporated  as  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  Bethel,  of  the  town  of  Yonkers. 
The  same  year  the  congregation  erected  a  church  edifice,  the 
first  to  be  built  within  what  subsequently  became  the  township 
of  Kingsbridge.  Since  1875,  the  congregation  has  worshipped 
at  St.  Stephen's  Church  on  the  Kingsbridge  Road,  Manhattan. 
Other  Methodist  societies  were  formed  at  City  Island  in  1 848 ; 
at  Morrisania  in  1850;  at  Tremont  in  1853;  a  German  congre- 
gation at  Morrisania  in  the  same  year ;  and  at  West  Farms  in 
1858. 

The  first  Baptist  Church  to  be  organized  within  the  Borough 
was  the  First  Church  of  Morrisania,  1850.  Previous  to  1858, 
the  Pilgrim  Baptist  Church  of  New  York  opened  a  mission  in 
what  was  called  West  Farms  Hall,  where  services  were  held 
on  Sundays  by  the  Reverend  Theodore  Gessler  and  by  a 
business  man  by  the  name  of  Halsey  Knapp.  Success  crowned 
their  efforts,  and  a  number  of  converts  was  made,  who  were 
baptized  in  the  Bronx  River.  In  January,  1858,  the  Baptists 
of  West  Farms,  to  the  number  of  twenty-one,  formed  themselves 
into  a  distinct  church  and  adopted  the  name  of  the  Pilgrim 
Baptist  Church  of  West  Farms.  In  November  of  the  same 
year,  a  lot  was  purchased  on  the  Boston  Road  at  Bryant  Street, 
and  the  erection  of  a  small  church  edifice  was  begun  shortly 
afterward;  a  later  edifice  still  occupies  the  same  site,  though 
long  unused,  having  been  vacated  on  account  of  the  noise  of 


288 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


passing  trolleys  and  elevated  trains.  In  June,  1859,  Mr. 
Halsey  Knapp  was  ordained  as  pastor  of  the  church. 

This  concludes  the  list  of  what  may  be  termed  the  "his- 
toric" churches — those  that  existed  in  colonial  times  or  which 
were  established  in  the  first  half-century  after  we  became  a 
nation.  So  much  space  is  given  to  the  Episcopal  Church 
because  it  was  the  Established  Church  of  the  Province,  and 
its  records  are  the  fullest  of  all. 

There  are,  in  round  numbers,  one  hundred  and  fifty  churches 
of  various  denominations  in  the  Borough.  The  following 
are  some  of  the  pioneer  churches  of  the  different  sects;  the 
Forest  Avenue  Congregational  Church  was  established  in  1851 
at  East  1 66th  Street;  the  Second  Church  of  the  Disciples  of 
Christ  was  started  about  1867  in  East  169th  Street  near 
Franklin  Avenue;  the  Jewish  congregation  of  B'nai  David,  at 
Third  Avenue  and  175th  Street,  was  established  in  1898;  the 
Second  Moravian  Church  was  organized  in  Manhattan  in 
1852,  but  moved  to  its  present  location  at  Wilkins  Avenue  and 
Jennings  Street  in  October,  1906.  With  such  a  large  influx 
of  Germans,  as  stated  elsewhere,  there  was  early  established 
a  Lutheran  as  well  as  a  Roman  Catholic  Church.  These 
Germans  made  efforts  as  early  as  1852  to  found  a  German 
Lutheran  Church;  but,  though  church  services  were  held  in  a 
hall  at  16 1st  Street,  the  congregation  separated  after  a  year, 
as  no  agreement  could  be  reached  as  to  whether  the  church 
should  be  situated  in  Melrose  or  Morrisania.  As  a  result,  two 
churches  were  established,  the  earlier  one,  St.  Matthew's  Ger- 
man Lutheran  Church  in  East  156th  Street,  Melrose,  and  St. 
John's  in  East  169th  Street  between  Fordham  (Third)  and  Ful- 
ton avenues,  Morrisania  The  first  of  these  was  incorporated 
in  1862,  and  the  latter  in  1865;  though  both  had  been  organized 
and  services  held  probably  five  years  earlier  than  these  dates. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


THE  PARKS  AND  CEMETERIES 

NO  history  of  the  Borough  would  be  complete  with- 
out an  account  of  the  magnificent  system  of  parks 
and  parkways  which  occupy  almost  one  sixth  of 
the  total  area  of  the  Borough. 

The  first  record  we  have  of  anything  in  the  way  of  a  park 
tells  of  the  race-course  established  in  the  Mill  Brook  valley 
by  General  Staats  Long  Morris  about  1750.  Horse-racing 
was  a  favorite  pastime  with  the  provincial  gentry,  and  General 
Morris  was  one  of  the  first  to  import  blooded  horses  and  to 
breed  them. 

South  of  the  ridge  upon  which  Claremont  Park  is  situated 
is  a  comparatively  level  stretch  of  low  land  through  which  a 
small  brook  formerly  found  its  way  into  Mill  Brook.  It  is 
stated  that  part  of  this  tract  was  General  Morris's  track  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  In  1870,  Dater  Brothers  leased  this 
track  from  the  Morris  estate  for  twenty  years  and  made  a  one 
mile  race- track  on  the  property.  The  first  race  meeting  was 
held  on  June  8,  1871.  Through  the  failure  of  the  lessees,  the 
property  and  buildings  reverted  to  the  Morris  estate  in  1880. 
It  was  then  leased  to  the  Gentlemen's  Driving  Association, 
who  held  possession  until  the  last  race  meeting  on  October  8, 
1897.  The  park  was  closed  on  January  1,  1898,  on  account  of 
19  289 


290  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


the  city  authorities  cutting  streets  through  it.  During  its 
existence  as  a  race- track,  the  property  was  known  as  Fleet- 
wood Park,  Morrisania.  It  lay  between  Webster  and  Sher- 
man avenues  on  the  east  and  west,  and  extended  from  East 
165th  Street  to  East  167th  Street.  Fleetwood  was  devoted 
to  the  distinctively  American  sport  of  trotting.  Mr.  Robert 
Bonner  had  his  stables  not  far  from  the  track,  and  the  famous 
"cracks"  of  a  generation  ago,  Dexter  and  Maud  S.  and  many 
others  did  their  turns  about  the  Fleetwood  track.  The  old 
park  has  been  cut  up  into  streets  and  building  lots  to  supply 
the  demands  of  an  ever  increasing  population. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  in  1866,  the  Bathgate 
farm  was  acquired  by  the  Jerome  Park  Villa  Site  Improve- 
ment Company,  but  the  American  Jockey  Club  soon  became 
the  lessee  and  laid  out  a  track  for  racing  purposes.  The  prop- 
erty lay  in  the  town  of  West  Farms,  in  the  ancient  manor  of 
Fordham;  and  the  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  Jerome  Park 
distributing  reservoir.  The  track  was  started  by  Leonard  W. 
Jerome,  William  R.  Travers,  S.  L.  M.  Barlow,  and  others 
for  the  purpose  of  lifting  American  racing  from  the  disrepute 
into  which  it  had  fallen  on  account  of  the  trickery  and  rowdy- 
ism which  had  hitherto  accompanied  it.  In  this  attempt  at 
reform,  the  Jockey  Club  was  eminently  successful,  as  the 
respectability  of  American  racing  since  that  time  proves. 

Morris  Park  race- track  was  the  last  one  within  the  Borough. 
On  May  19,  1888,  Eliza  Macomb  conveyed  152  acres,  between 
Bronxdale  and  Westchester,  to  John  A.  Morris.  The  northern 
end  of  the  property  included  a  portion  of  the  Bear  Swamp, 
whose  outlet,  Downing's  Brook,  finds  its  way  into  the  Bronx 
River.  The  Bear  Swamp  Road  and  the  Westchester  and 
Williamsbridge  Road  constitute  the  principal  boundaries  of 
the  track.    The  Westchester  Racing  Association  graded  the 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  291 


property,  built  stables  and  stands,  and  laid  out  an  oval  track 
one  and  a  quarter  miles  long,  with  a  straightaway  track  cross- 
ing it,  three  quarters  of  a  mile  long.  These  are  said  by  experts 
to  have  been  the  finest  in  the  country.  All  the  decorations 
of  the  stands  and  buildings  were  in  the  Pompeiian  villa  style, 
in  carved  relief  and  set  off  in  varied  colors.  There  were  stable 
accommodations  for  more  than  seven  hundred  horses.  The 
first  race  meet  took  place  in  1 890,  and  the  park  was  in  constant 
use  until  1904,  when  it  was  closed  to  racing  and  divided  up  into 
lots.  In  1908  and  1909,  the  track  was  used  on  several  occa- 
sions for  exhibitions  and  tests  of  aeroplanes  and  balloons.  As 
a  race- track  it  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  betting  and  racing 
population.  The  Morrises  who  were  interested  in  the  park 
are  not  of  the  old  Morrisania  family. 

Up  to  the  year  1883,  the  (old)  city  of  New  York  ranked 
sixth  in  the  country  in  the  matter  of  area  of  land  for  public 
parks;  but  in  that  year  a  number  of  public-spirited  men, 
with  an  insight  into  the  future,  petitioned  the  State  Legis- 
lature for  a  commission  to  select  sites  for  new  parks.  In 
accordance  with  the  act  passed  in  answer  to  the  petition,  a 
committee  of  seven  citizens  was  appointed  by  Mayor 
Franklin  Edson,  which  worked  so  expeditiously  that 
their  report  was  ready  for  the  Legislature  of  1884,  which 
authorized  the  purchase  of  .  the  various  sites  selected.  These 
commissioners  served  without  pay,  and  entirely  from  public 
spirit.  The  "New"  parks,  as  they  were  called,  comprised 
3757  acres,  now  included  in  Van  Cortlandt,  Bronx,  Pelham 
Bay,  Crotona,  St.  Mary's,  and  Claremont  parks.  The  con- 
demnation proceedings  took  some  time,  so  that  title  did  not 
vest  in  the  city  until  December  12,  1888.  Cedar  Park,  of 
17.47  acres,  had  been  purchased  by  the  city  June  4,  1885, 
before  the  New  Parks  Act  became  operative  by  the  completion 


292  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


of  the  condemnation  proceedings.  Pelham  Bay  Park,  which 
lies  in  the  Chester  district  of  the  Borough,  was  thus  secured 
to  the  city  seven  years  before  the  section  in  which  it  lies 
became  a  part  of  the  city  of  New  York.  Since  that  time,  many 
more  acres  have  been  added  to  The  Bronx  parks  for  parkways 
and  small  parks,  so  that  the  total  number  of  acres  is  now 
4142  with  an  assessed  valuation  of  $56,627,600,  divided  among 
forty-eight  large  and  small  parks  and  four  parkways,  the  actual 
cost  to  the  city  being  $14,982,581. 

Franz  Sigel,  or  Cedar  Park,  as  it  was  originally  called, 
though  not  fully  vested  in  the  city  until  June  4,  1885,  was  a 
public  park  in  1880,  as  the  author  visited  it  several  times  in 
that  year,  or  earlier.  It  lies  between  East  153d  and  158th 
streets,  and  between  Walton  and  Mott  avenues,  overlooking 
the  Harlem  River  and  the  great  freight  yards  at  Melrose. 
Its  original  name  was  derived  from  the  number  of  cedar  trees 
which  occupy  the  ridge  between  the  valleys  of  Cromwell's 
Creek  and  Mill  Brook,  upon  which  the  park  is  located.  When 
Washington  and  Rochambeau  made  their  grand  reconnaissance 
in  August,  1 78 1,  it  is  stated  that  they  came  as  far  south  as  the 
commanding  outlook  of  Cedar  Park,  from  which  they  could 
readily  examine  through  their  glasses  the  town  of  Harlem 
on  the  other  bank  of  the  river  and  the  British  fortifications 
there.  The  park  comprises  17.5  acres.  General  Franz  Sigel, 
a  conspicuous  leader  in  the  political  disturbances  in  Germany 
in  1848,  came  to  this  country  in  consequence  of  the  failure  of 
the  movement  for  popular  rights  and  settled  in  the  West. 
During  the  Civil  War,  he  did  good  service  for  the  Union. 
During  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  he  lived  in  the  Borough,  not 
far  from  Cedar  Park.  He  died  in  1902;  and,  in  order  to  pre- 
serve his  memory,  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  in  December,  1902, 
changed  the  name  of  the  park  from  Cedar  to  Franz  Sigel. 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  293 


Of  all  the  Bronx  parks,  Van  Cortlandt,  the  second  in  size, 
is  the  most  interesting  historically.  It  comprises  1132.35 
acres,  and  extends  from  the  city  line  on  the  north  to  West 
240th  Street — Van  Cortlandt  Park  South — on  the  south. 
Its  western  boundary  is  Broadway,  and  its  eastern  Jerome 
and  Mt.  Vernon  avenues.  Both  the  old  and  the  new  Croton 
aqueducts  traverse  it  from  north  to  south ;  and  it  is  crossed  by 
the  main  line  and  the  Yonkers  branch  of  the  Putnam  Railroad. 
The  aqueduct  now  building  to  bring  water  from  the  Catskills 
also  traverses  the  park.  Jerome  Avenue  cuts  through  its 
northeastern  part,  and  Mosholu  Avenue  and  Gun  Hill  Road 
cross  it  from  east  to  west,  while  Grand  Avenue  crosses  on  the 
eastern  side  as  far  as  the  lake.  The  park  lies  in  the  valley 
of  Tippett's  Brook,  which  cuts  it  approximately  in  half  from 
north  to  south,  between  the  Fordham  ridge  on  the  east  and 
the  Spuyten  Duyvil  ridge  on  the  west.  The  greater  part  of 
the  park  is  still  in  a  state  of  nature,  with  swamps,  woods,  and 
rocky  precipitous  ridges,  or  cleared  spaces  only  where  former 
occupants  cultivated  their  land. 

The  park  occupies  a  portion  of  the  Betts  and  Tippett  tract 
of  1668,  almost  all  of  the  John  Hadden,  or  Heddy,  tract  of 
the  same  date,  and  portions  of  the  farms  acquired  from  the 
Commissioners  of  Forfeiture  of  the  Philipseburgh  Manor  in 
1785  by  John  Warner  and  George  Hadley. 

In  1699,  Jacobus  Van  Cortlandt,  who  had  married  Eva, 
the  adopted  daughter  of  Frederick  Philipse,  bought  from 
his  father-in-law  fifty  acres  of  land  on  George's  Point,  and 
added  to  it  about  one  hundred  acres  more  that  he  pur- 
chased from  the  neighboring  landowners.  These  constituted 
the  nucleus  of  the  Van  Cortlandt  estate.  Later  proprie- 
tors added  more  land,  until  the  estate  became  almost 
manorial  in  size.     The  property  was  entailed  until  1825, 


294 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


when  entail  was  prohibited  by  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the 
State. 

Jacobus  Van  Cortlandt  was  a  distinguished  member  of 
the  community  and  was  Mayor  of  the  City  of  New  York  from 
i7ioto  1719.  About  1700,  he  dammed  Tippett's  Brook  and 
erected  a  grist-mill  and  a  saw-mill,  which  stood  until  the  early 
spring  of  1903.  His  house  stood  on  George's  Point,  a  bend  of 
Tippett's  Brook,  just  north  of  the  dam,  on  the  same  site  as 
that  selected  by  Van  der  Donck.  The  damming  of  the  brook 
makes  a  lake  about  a  mile  long  which  is  well-known  to  New 
Yorkers  as  Van  Cortlandt  Lake ;  the  house  disappeared  before 
the  Revolution. 

The  mills  stood  during  the  troublous  times  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  after  the  return  of  peace  they  continued  to  be  opera- 
ted by  the  Van  Tassels  to  within  the  present  generation. 
During  a  heavy  thunder-storm  in  June,  1900,  the  larger  of  the 
two  mills,  trie  grist-mill,  was  struck  by  lightning  and  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  the  electric  fluid  at  the  same  time  passing 
over  the  wires  to  the  mansion,  where  but  slight  damage  was 
done.  The  saw-mill  stood  in  a  dilapidated  condition,  being 
used  as  a  store-house  for  the  tools  of  the  workmen  and  for  the 
"stanes"  of  the  curlers,  until  the  spring  of  1903,  when  it  was 
removed  by  the  park  authorities,  as  it  was  in  a  tumble-down 
and  dangerous  condition.  Attempts  were  made  to  repair  it, 
but  the  under  beams  were  so  decayed  that  the  whole  building 
threatened  to  fall  upon  the  workmen.  The  old  mill-stone 
from  the  grist-mill  has  been  mounted  as  a  sun-dial  and  has 
been  preserved  in  that  way. 

Frederick  Van  Cortlandt  succeeded  to  the  estate  of  his  father 
Jacobus.  In  1748,  he  erected  the  stone  mansion  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  park,  now  in  charge  of  the  Colonial  Dames  of  the 
State  of  New  York  as  a  museum  of  Colonial  and  Revolutionary 


The  Van  Cortlandt  Park,  the  Dam  and  Mill. 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  295 


relics.  These  ladies  have  gathered  together  a  most  interest- 
ing collection  of  Dutch  and  Colonial  household  furniture  and 
utensils,  as  well  as  of  ancient  arms  and  documents.  An  old 
four-post  bedstead  with  steps  to  reach  the  lofty  mattress  is 
authenticated  as  having  been  slept  in  by  Washington.  The 
mansion  is  very  frequently  and  wrongly  referred  to  as  the 
manor-house;  but  this  is  a  great  mistake,  as  the  only  Van 
Cortlandt  manor-house  is  that  near  the  mouth  of  the  Croton 
River. 

To  the  east  of  the  mansion  is  a  barred  window  with  its 
stone  framing,  taken  from  the  Cuyler-Rhinelander  sugar- 
house,  which  formerly  stood  at  the  corner  of  Rose  and  Duane 
streets,  in  which,  so  it  is  alleged,  so  many  of  the  imprisoned 
Americans  met  sickness  and  death  during  the  Revolution. 
The  window  was  dedicated  with  appropriate  ceremonies  on 
May  26,  1903.  On  each  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  mansion 
lies  an  old  gun  in  the  grass;  these  were  among  those  dug  up 
at  the  site  of  Fort  Independence  when  Mr.  Giles  built  his 
house  there;  they  were  probably  used  by  both  Americans 
and  English. 

Frederick  Van  Cortlandt  died  in  1749  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son  Jacobus,  or,  as  he  is  better  known,  Colonel  James 
Van  Cortlandt.  Like  so  many  of  the  colonists,  he  was  with 
the  movement  for  redress  of  grievances  from  King  and  Parlia- 
ment; but  when  it  came  to  the  question  of  independence,  his 
loyalty  to  the  crown  prevented  him  from  going  further  with 
the  patriots,  though  he  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  very 
active  loyalist.  He  was  a  man  of  kindly  heart  and  was  well 
esteemed  by  his  neighbors.  It  was  no  unusual  thing  for  him 
to  mount  his  horse  and  take  the  long  ride  into  the  city  to 
intercede  with  the  British  authorities  for  some  unfortunate 
neighbor  whose  property  had  fallen  into  their  hands,  or  to 


296  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


attempt  to  better  the  condition  of  those  who  were  so  unhappy 
as  to  be  held  prisoners.  During  his  occupancy,  the  mansion 
was  known  as  "Lower  CortlandtV  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
farm  of  Frederick  Van  Cortlandt  at  Mosholu,  west  of  Broad- 
way, which  was  called  "Upper  Cortlandt ' s, "  and,  sometimes, 
"Cortlandt's  white  house." 

Colonel  James  Van  Cortlandt  died  childless  in  1781,  and  the 
property  passed  to  his  brother  Augustus,  who  died  in  1823 
without  male  issue.  The  estate  then  went  into  the  female  line, 
and  the  name  of  Van  Cortlandt  was  legally  assumed  by  their 
descendants. 

Over  the  windows  of  the  old  mansion  are  inserted  in  the 
way  of  keystones,  or  corbels,  carved  faces,  some  of  which  are 
childish,  but  many  of  which  are  fiendish  in  their  grinning  and 
grimacing  ugliness.  They  have  seen  many  and  curious 
sights.  Over  the  Albany  Post-road,  directly  in  front  of  the 
house,  has  passed  the  great  manor-lord  or  gentleman  of 
estate  with  his  out-riders  and  his  grand  coach  and  four,  on 
his  way,  perchance,  to  visit  the  great  Colonel  Philipse  at  his 
manor-house  at  Yonkers,  or  to  take  part  in  the  deliberations 
of  the  Provincial  Assembly,  and  stopping  here  for  a  bed  and  a 
sup.  They  have  seen  the  Westchester  farmers  driving  their 
cattle  to  market  in  New  York,  and  have  heard  them  grumbling 
at  the  payment  of  tolls  at  the  King's  bridge  to  swell  the  already 
bursting  coffers  of  Colonel  Philipse;  or  later,  have  heard  the 
glee  and  satisfaction  of  the  same  farmers  at  the  completion  of 
the  free  bridge. 

Here  comes  a  gay  and  gallant  company  of  ladies  and  gentle- 
men, decked  out  in  their  fine  clothes,  the  former  wearing  masks 
to  protect  their  delicate  complexions  from  the  rude  air,  and 
the  latter  tapping  their  snuff-boxes  as  they  utter  some  bon- 
mot  or  exaggerated  piece  of  gallantry  to  their  fair  compan- 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  297 


ions.  What  care  they  if  the  roads  be  rough  and  the  coaches 
jolting,  or  that  the  ladies  are  riding  on  pillions?  Are  they  not 
on  their  way  to  the  wedding  of  lovely  Mary  Philipse  and 
Colonel  Roger  Morris? 

Along  the  road  comes  the  Yankee  peddler  with  his  pack,  not 
only  of  notions,  but  of  news ;  and  he  looks  about  him  curiously 
as  he  asks  some  negro  slave  or  redemptioner  his  way  to  the 
back  door.  And  the  faces  look  at  him  with  equal  curiosity — 
he  is  so  different  from  the  stolid  Dutch  farmer  or  sturdy  Eng- 
lish yeoman  they  are  accustomed  to  see.  And  then  the 
travellers  increase  in  numbers;  they  seem  to  be  in  some  sort 
of  order,  though  they  are  clothed  in  homespun  and  no  two  are 
armed  alike.  Across  the  meadows  to  the  distant  ridges  the 
heads  stretch  their  ears  to  catch  the  sound  of  the  spade  and 
the  mattock.  Then,  most  woeful  sight,  they  see  the  ranks  of 
tattered,  shoeless,  and  dispirited  men  as  they  march  sullenly 
by  from  Long  Island,  Harlem  Heights,  and  the  forts  below 
on  their  way  to  Philipseburgh  or  White  Plains.  And  during 
these  months,  they  have  seen  the  noblest  figure  that  has  ever 
passed  before  them,  the  great  American  leader,  with  Heath 
and  Lincoln  and  the  rest  of  the  gallant  leaders  of  that  dis- 
heartened host.  And  then  comes  Charles  Lee — is  it  any 
wonder  that  some  of  the  faces  have  assumed  a  sardonic  expres- 
sion that  all  the  pleasant  sights  of  more  than  a  century  have 
been  unable  to  change? 

Beneath  the  trees  which  they  have  seen  grow  from  saplings, 
gathers  another  multitude  of  men,  with  the  red  coat  of  the 
British  soldier,  the  tartan  of  the  Scot,  the  green  coat  of  the 
German  yager,  the  chasseurs  of  Emmerick,  or  the  rangers  of 
Simcoe;  and  as  Sunday  comes  around,  they  have  heard  the 
British  chaplain — our  old  friend  Samuel  Seabury,  perhaps — ■ 
ask  divine  grace  upon  all  in  authority,  "and  especially  upon  thy 


298 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


servant,  George  the  Third,  King  of  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  and 
France,  and  Defender  of  the  Faith. ' '  On  some  dark  night,  when 
their  eyes  could  scarcely  pierce  the  gloom,  their  ears  have  been 
saluted  by  the  sounds  of  passing  horsemen ;  and  as  they  caught 
the  low-spoken  words,  they  knew  that  De  Armond  and  his 
gallant  Frenchmen  were  on  an  errand  to  the  British  camp; 
later,  they  hear  the  clash  of  steel,  the  scattering  shots  of  the 
musketry,  and  the  thunder  of  the  horses'  hoofs  upon  the  dam, 
and  know  that  the  Frenchman  has  drawn  the  enemy  from  his 
camp. 

For  five  long  years  they  looked  for  that  noble  figure,  which, 
once  seen,  could  never  be  forgotten;  and  then  he  came,  and 
by  his  side  the  noble  Rochambeau.  Before  their  eyes  passed 
the  veteran  troops  of  Lincoln  and  the  soldiers  of  France  with 
the  standard  of  the  lilies  unfurling  its  silken  folds  to  the  soft, 
caressing,  American  air.  They  saw  the  grand  reconnaissance ; 
and  at  its  end  they  saw  the  great  commander,  surrounded  by 
his  tried  companions-in-arms  and  by  the  best  and  noblest  sons 
of  France,  pass  within  the  door. 

Their  eyes  were  tired  with  watching  the  turmoil  of  war, 
their  ears  with  hearing  its  din.  Before  them  passed  the  gal- 
lant prince  who  later  was  to  be  Britain's  "Sailor  King," 
and  with  him  the  humane  Carleton.  For  two  years  more 
they  watched  for  the  return  of  the  Chief,  and  turned  their 
sight  and  hearing  toward  the  post-road.  At  last,  their  vigil 
was  ended;  for  in  the  distance  came  the  roll  of  drums,  the 
shriek  of  fifes,  and  the  steady  tramp  of  armed  men;  and  their 
eyes  gazed  restfully  upon  the  men  in  blue  and  buff,  at  their 
head  the  immortal  Washington,  with  Henry  Knox  and  George 
Clinton  on  either  side.  Once  more  they  saw  a  distinguished 
group  pass  through  the  door;  and  could  their  hearing  have 
pierced  the  walls  of  stone,  they  would  have  heard  the  great 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  299 


man  drinking  the  health  of  the  ladies  of  the  mansion.  The 
march  is  resumed ;  and  from  the  joyous  remarks  of  the  soldiers, 
the  heads  learn  that  no  more  will  they  see  the  British  red  coat 
or  the  Highland  plaid,  or  hear  the  guttural  accents  of  the 
German — for  peace  has  come. 

For  two  years  they  rested;  then  their  wondering  eyes 
opened  to  see  the  first  lumbering  coach  go  by  on  its  way  to 
Albany.  A  score  of  years  later,  they  fell  asleep;  for  men 
had  changed  the  way  of  the  ancient  road  and  came  no  more  in 
front  of  the  old  mansion.  Again  they  heard  the  martial 
sounds  of  war  as  men  marched  by  for  the  defence  of  New  York 
from  1812  to  1815;  but  this  time  their  eyes  are  spared  the 
sight  of  carnage — that  is  on  the  sea. 

Once  more  the  long  "piping  times  of  peace."  The  old 
mansion  has  new  owners;  the  great  city  needed  a  pleasure 
ground  for  its  people;  and  the  heads  gaze  upon  crowds  and 
crowds  of  people  gathered  here  each  week  to  listen  to  the 
strains  of  music  wafted  through  the  shady  trees.  Their 
eyes  had  seen  the  heavy,  lumbering,  swaying  coaches  of  by- 
gone days;  no  wonder  their  mouths  spread  wider  when  they 
gazed  upon  the  light,  silent  steeds  of  the  wheelmen  who  come 
in  thousands,  or  upon  four-in-hand  coaches  with  their  tooting 
horns  and  exquisite  drivers,  many  of  whose  ancestors  they 
had  seen  in  cocked  hats,  knee-breeches,  and  silver  buckles. 
Now  their  mouths  are  frozen  wide;  they  have  no  more  mind 
for  wonder;  for  they  have  seen  the  rushing,  crushing,  noisy, 
rattling  automobile  with  its  load  of  passengers  more  masked 
and  disguised  than  were  the  highwaymen  of  Hampstead 
Heath. 

A  fairer  sight  now  meets  their  eyes,  a  sight  with  which,  it 
is  said,  they  were  once  familiar — a  veritable  Dutch  garden, 
which  the  park  gardener  laid  out  during  1902  and  1903  below 


300  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


the  bluff  on  which  the  house  stands,  and  which  was  opened  to 
the  public  on  Memorial  Day  of  the  latter  year.  It  has  Dutch 
trees,  and  Dutch  walks,  and  Dutch  flowers,  and,  above  all, 
Dutch  canals,  which  are  supplied  by  the  water  from  Tippett's 
Brook.  Let  us  leave  the  heads  to  their  remembrances  and  go 
where  they  cannot  see  or  hear. 

The  shady  lane  of  locust  trees  leads  to  the  station  of  the 
Putnam  Railroad.  Just  north  of  the  station  is  Van  Cortlandt 
Lake  and  the  dam  and  site  of  the  ancient  mills.  In  the  winter 
time,  this  end  of  the  lake  near  the  dam  is  given  over  to  the 
famous  Scotch  sport  of  curling,  the  rest  of  the  lake  being  re- 
served for  skaters.  To  the  east  of  the  station  and  the  lake  is 
an  eighteen-hole  golf  course  free  to  the  public.  A  commodi- 
ous shelter-house  has  been  erected  for  the  use  of  the  golfers 
and  skaters,  and  in  the  summer  time  boats  may  be  procured 
for  use  on  the  lake.  There  are  also  several  tennis  courts  to 
the  west  of  the  mansion,  and  the  parade  ground  is  "common" 
at  all  times  to  those  who  play  base-ball. 

Directly  back  of  the  mansion  is  the  statue  of  General  Josiah 
Porter,  for  many  years  adjutant-general  of  the  State.  The 
statue  was  unveiled  with  appropriate  ceremonies  in  September, 
1902.  It  faces  the  great  level  plain  of  the  parade  ground,  the 
largest  drill  ground  in  the  State,  comprising  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres,  a  part  of  which  was  Van  der  Donck's  "planting 
field. "  The  park  authorities  did  not  have  much  filling  in  or 
grading  to  do  in  getting  it  ready  for  drill  purposes.  Upon 
several  occasions,  two  brigades  have  held  sham  battles  and 
reviews,  and  it  has  been  used  frequently  for  camping  out  by 
the  city  batteries  and  mounted  troops.  There  are  also  three 
polo  fields,  opened  since  1901,  which  have  become  immensely 
popular,  thousands  of  visitors  witnessing  the  games  between 
the  various  contestants.    There  is  also  a  practice  ground  for 


Vault  Hill,  the  Ancient  Burial-place  of  the  Van  Cortlandt  Family,  Van  Cortlandt 

Park. 


The  Monument  on  Indian  Field,  Van  Cortlandt  Park. 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  301 


beginners  at  golf,  who  can  plow  up  "divits"  and  fuzzle  to 
their  heart's  content  without  delaying  or  interfering  with  the 
more  experienced  players  on  the  regular  links. 

In  the  southeast  corner  of  the  field,  not  far  from  the  lake, 
is  a  group  of  several  locust  trees.  This  spot  is  supposed  to 
have  been  the  site  of  Van  der  Donck's  farmhouse,  if  he  had 
any,  and  was  the  site  of  the  house  of  the  original  Van  Cort- 
landt.  In  grading  the  surface  of  the  field  here  in  the  spring 
of  1903,  the  foundations  of  the  old  house  were  uncovered  and 
also  numerous  pieces  of  broken  Dutch  pottery — jugs,  wine 
bottles,  and  the  like.  The  site  is  between  the  dam  and  the 
group  of  trees,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  the 
former.  The  spot  has  been  used  as  a  graveyard  for  many 
years,  and  here  are  buried  several  members  of  the  Ackerman 
and  Berrien  families,  descendants  of  Betts  and  Tippett  and 
connections  of  the  Van  Cortlandts.  Upon  a  visit  made  to 
the  spot  by  the  author  in  the  fall  of  1902,  he  found  the  tomb- 
stones much  defaced,  with  many  fresh  wounds,  made  appar- 
ently within  a  few  days  before  his  visit.  That  very  week  one 
of  the  cavalry  squadrons  or  batteries  of  artillery  had  camped 
here  in  the  park,  and  the  signs  were  unmistakable  that  their 
stable  tent  had  occupied  this  spot,  or  that  they  had  used  the 
trees  and  tombstones  for  tethering  their  horses,  and  had  either 
carelessly  or  wantonly  injured  the  monuments.  Some  of 
these  stones  have  dates  before  1800.  The  spot  has  since  been 
fenced  in  for  protection  from  such  vandalism  and  desecration. 

At  the  northern  edge  of  the  parade  ground  is  Vault  Hill, 
which  rises  149  feet  above  sea-level.  It  gets  its  name  from  the 
ancient  burial  vaults  of  the  Van  Cortlandt  family  which  are 
situated  near  its  summit.  Within  the  walled  enclosure  are 
two  grass-covered  mounds  within  which  are  the  stone  vaults 
containing  the  remains  of  various  members  and  connections 


302 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


of  the  family.  The  views  from  the  top  of  the  hill  are  fine,  and 
one  would  think  that  the  mansion  would  have  been  erected 
here  instead  of  on  the  plain,  but  perhaps  it  was  more  in 
keeping  with  Dutch  taste  to  be  on  the  low  land. 

In  August,  1776,  after  the  Battle  of  Long  Island,  the  authori- 
ties of  New  York  became  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  the  city 
records,  and  the  Committee  of  Safety  ordered  Augustus  Van 
Cortlandt,  the  town  clerk,  to  remove  them  to  a  place  of  safe- 
keeping. They  were,  therefore,  carried  from  Harlem  and 
hidden  in  the  family  vault  upon  this  hill.  Their  hiding-place 
became  known  to  the  British  later,  and  they  were  returned  to 
the  city.  When  Washington  decided  to  attack  Cornwallis 
at  Yorktown,  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  deceive  Clinton  at 
New  York  and  prevent  the  sending  of  reinforcements  to  the 
entrapped  Cornwallis.  The  grand  reconnaissance  of  the  allied 
armies  in  the  summer  of  1781  led  Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  believe 
that  New  York  was  to  be  attacked ;  and  bogus  dispatches  were 
also  arranged  so  as  to  fall  into  his  hands  and  increase  his 
belief.  When  the  allies  withdrew  from  this  neighborhood, 
Clinton  was  unaware  of  the  fact,  because  Washington  caused 
deceptive  camp-fires  to  be  kept  burning  on  Vault  Hill  for 
several  days,  in  order  that  he  might  have  time  to  cross  the 
Hudson  and  be  well  on  his  way  before  Clinton  should  find  out 
that  he  had  been  fooled. 

The  hill  is  enclosed  by  a  high  wire  fence,  and  is  called  the 
"wild  animal  enclosure.  "  About  1895,  a  number  of  bison  were 
furnished  to  the  park  authorities  by  the  late  Austin  Corbin,  and 
placed  within  the  enclosure ;  but  the  land  was  not  adapted  to 
their  maintenance,  as  it  was  too  wet  and  boggy  near  the  brook. 
Several  of  the  animals  died  and  the  rest  became  so  ill  and  run 
down  that  the  remnant  of  the  herd  was  returned  to  the  wild 
animal  park  of  Mr.  Corbin  near  Claremont,  New  Hampshire. 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  303 


The  park  roads  from  the  Fordham  ridge  are  very  steep. 
There  are  several  natural  springs  along  the  ridge  and  guide- 
posts  direct  to  them.  The  woods  in  the  upper  part  of  the  park 
are  open  to  all  visitors,  and  parties  of  botanists  and  children 
come  here  for  wild  flowers,  which,  if  care  is  not  taken,  will, 
in  a  few  years,  be  "conspicuous  by  their  absence";  as  the 
careless  and  wanton  picking  of  flowers  will  prevent  them  from 
going  to  seed  and  thus  reproducing  the  species. 

In  the  northeastern  part  of  the  park  is  "Indian  Field," 
where  Simcoe  defeated  the  Stockbridge  Indians,  and  where 
eighteen  of  them  are  buried,  almost  where  they  fell.  At  the 
suggestion  of  the  writer,  a  cairn  of  rough  boulders,  somewhat 
similar  to  that  at  Stockbridge,  Massachusetts,  was  erected 
in  1906,  through  the  courtesy  and  co-operation  of  George  W. 
Walgrove,  at  that  time  Commissioner  of  Parks  for  The  Bronx. 
It  bears  the  following  inscription  on  a  bronze  tablet: 

"AUGUST  31,  1778. 
UPON  THIS  FIELD 
CHIEF  NIMHAM 
AND  SEVENTEEN  STOCKBRIDGE  INDIANS, 
AS  ALLIES  OF  THE  PATRIOTS, 
GAVE  THEIR  LIVES  FOR  LIBERTY. 

ERECTED  BY  BRONX  CHAPTER, 
DAUGHTERS  OF  THE    AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 
MOUNT  VERNON,  NEW  YORK. 
JUNE  14,  1906." 

June  14  is  "Flag  Day,"  and  the  monument  was  dedicated 
with  appropriate  ceremonies.  Since  then,  a  flag-pole  has 
been  erected,  the  rough  ground  cleared  up,  and  many  park 
benches  placed  by  the  park  authorities;  and  the  spot  has 
become  a  popular  meeting-place  for  the  people  of  the  neigh- 


304  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


borhood  for  patriotic  celebrations.  The  lane  leading  to  De 
Voe's  is  still  used  to  get  to  Yonkers;  but  the  bridge  over  which 
the  remnant  of  Nimham's  band  fled  across  Tippett's  Brook 
has  disappeared,  and  its  site  is  doubtful. 

Van  Cortlandt  Park  is  connected  with  Bronx  Park,  which 
lies  almost  south  of  it,  by  a  fine  parkway  six  hundred  feet  wide 
and  one  and  fourteen  hundredths  miles  long,  called  the 
Mosholu  Parkway.  Bronx  Park  is  about  two  miles  long  and 
contains  719.12  acres,  lying  between  Morris  Street  in  Williams- 
bridge  on  the  north;  the  Harlem  Railroad,  Fordham  Univer- 
sity, and  the  Southern  Boulevard  on  the  west;  East  i82d 
Street  on  the  south;  and  the  White  Plains  Road,  or  Avenue, 
for  a  long  distance  on  the  east.  The  Bronx  River  runs  through 
the  park  from  north  to  south  and  divides  the  park  nearly  into 
halves.  Pelham  Avenue,  a  continuation  of  the  Fordham 
Road,  crosses  the  park  from  west  to  east,  where  it  is  continued 
in  The  Bronx  and  Pelham  Bay  Parkway.  The  Coles  Boston 
Post-road  passes  through  the  southeastern  part  of  the  park 
and  along  the  western  bank  of  the  river,  crossing  it  at  the 
site  of  Bronxdale. 

The  park  is  most  appropriately  named ;  for  nowhere  else  does 
one  see  to  such  good  advantage  the  fine  yet  simple  beauty  of 
the  Bronx  River.  After  passing  under  Williams's  bridge 
the  stream  wanders  through  the  meadows  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  park  as  if  reluctant  to  pursue  once  more  the  rapid 
rush  of  its  up-stream  course.  Then  it  enters  the  narrow  gorge 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Lorillard  mansion  and  rushes  through 
to  reach  the  gentle,  placid  lakes  below.  It  is  in  this  part 
of  the  park  that  we  can  understand  the  reason  for  the 
Indian  name  of  the  river,  the  Aquahung,  "a  high  bluff,  or 
bank." 

As  Drake  sings: 


The  Lorillard  Mansion  in  Bronx  Park. 


The  Falls  in  Bronx  Park. 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  305 


"There  were  the  dark  cedars,  with  loose  mossy  tresses, 
White-powder 'd  dog  trees,  and  stiff  hollies  flaunting, 
Gaudy  as  rustics  in  their  May-day  dresses, 

Blue  pellorets  from  purple  leaves  upslanting 
A  modest  gaze,  like  eyes  of  a  young  maiden 
Shining  beneath  dropped  lids  the  evening  of  her  wedding. " 

Nature  has  furnished  an  ideal  beauty  spot;  may  man's 
improving  hand  long  be  kept  from  interference!  Well  might 
Drake  exclaim : 

"  0 ! 't  was  a  ravishing  spot,  form'd  for  a  poet's  dwelling. " 

The  lower  portion  of  the  stream  spreads  out  into  two  lakes 
formed  by  dams,  the  post-road  crossing  between  them  where 
Bolton's  bleacheries  formerly  stood  at  Bronxdale.  About 
the  middle  of  the  lower  lake  is  where  the  patent  and  manor 
lines  of  Fordham,  West  Farms,  and  Westchester  formed  a 
corner.  Through  the  heavy  masses  of  woods  the  patriots 
hid,  or  found  their  way  for  their  stealthy  attacks  upon  De 
Lancey's  Mills,  just  below,  with  the  hope  of  capturing  the  arch 
loyalist  and  troublesome  raider,  James  De  Lancey,  in  his 
visits  to  his  aged  mother,  who  was  brave  enough  to  occupy 
the  mansion  in  the  Neutral  Ground  during  the  troublous 
times  of  the  Revolution. 

The  De  Lancey  mansion  stood  on  the  east  bank  of  the  stream 
on  a  small  plateau,  which  seems  to  have  been  partially  arti- 
ficial. It  overlooked  the  stream  and  the  mills  on  the  opposite 
bank;  just  south  of  the  house  was  the  Kingsbridge  Road 
continued  east  to  Westchester,  crossing  the  stream  by  a  ford, 
and  in  later  times  by  a  bridge;  above  is  the  mill-dam,  whose 
falling  water  gives  out  a  gentle  murmur  which  must  have 
served  as  a  lullaby  to  the  occupants  of  the  mansion.  Between 

the  site  of  the  house  and  the  stream  stands  an  immense  pine 
20 


306  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


tree  whose  girth  is  about  twelve  feet.  Some  gentleman  who 
visited  the  spot  seventy  years  ago  was  moved  to  write  the 
following  lines : 

"Where  gentle  Bronx  clear  winding  flows 

The  shadowy  banks  between, 
Where  blossomed  bell  or  wilding  rose 

Adorns  the  brightest  green; 
Memorial  of  the  fallen  great, 

The  rich  and  honored  line, 
Stands  high  in  solitary  state, 

De  Lancey's  ancient  pine. 

"There  once  at  early  dawn  arrayed 

The  rural  sport  to  lead, 
The  gallant  master  of  the  glade, 

Bedecked  his  eager  steed. 
And  once  the  lightfoot  maiden  came 

In  loveliness  divine, 
To  sculptor  with  the  dearest  name, 

De  Lancey's  ancient  pine. 

"But  now  the  stranger's  foot  explores 

De  Lancey's  wide  domain, 
And  scarce  one  kindred  heart  restores 

His  memory  to  the  plain; 
And  just  like  one  in  age  alone, 

The  last  of  all  his  line 
Bends  sadly  where  the  waters  moan, 

De  Lancey's  ancient  pine. 

u  O I  victim  of  misguided  zeal ! 
To  tell  thy  former  fame 
Who  bids  the  fretted  stone  reveal 
The  numbers  of  thy  name? 


The  Botanical  Museum,  Bronx  Park. 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  307 


Ere  brightening  up  the  eastern  sky, 

Another  morn  shall  shine, 
In  equalizing  dust  may  lie 

De  Lancey's  ancient  pine. 

"Wo!  ho!  the  satiate  traveller  stays 
Where  eve's  calm  glories  shine, 
To  weep,  as  tells  of  other  days 
De  Lancey's  ancient  pine. " 

The  portion  of  the  park  north  of  Bolton's  bleachery  formerly 
belonged  to  Pierre  Lorillard,  who  was  of  French  extraction 
and  who  obtained  possession  of  the  property  in  the  early  part 
of  the  last  century.  In  the  gorge  of  the  river  the  stream  was 
dammed,  and  a  snuff-mill  was  erected  about  1840-45.  The 
old  mill  is  said  to  be  haunted,  on  what  authority  the  author 
knows  not.  On  the  high  bluff  above  the  dam,  Mr.  Lorillard 
erected  a  great  stone  mansion,  which,  after  this  became  public 
property,  was  for  a  long  time  used  as  a  police  station,  but  out 
of  which  the  guardians  of  the  park  at  last  succeeded  in  ousting 
the  guardians  of  the  peace.  The  bridge  which  crosses  the 
stream  below  the  house  is  a  favorite  point  with  visitors,  as  the 
view  is  so  charming.  Just  south  of  the  house  is  a  garden  in 
which  old-fashioned  flowers  run  riot — hollyhocks,  sweet- 
williams,  marigolds,  roses,  and  what  not.  The  Lorillards 
were  careful  to  preserve  the  natural  beauties  of  the  region, 
and  it  is  to  this  carefulness  we  owe  the  magnificent  trees  that 
are  still  standing.  Under  their  shade,  in  the  summer  time, 
the  band  discourses  music  to  the  delight  of  thousands.  The 
presence  of  so  many  fine  trees  led  to  the  setting  apart  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  the  upper  part  of  the  park  as  a 
botanical  garden,  under  the  care  and  protection  of  a  society 
formed  for  the  purpose.    In  this  way  an  arboretum  has  been 


308 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


preserved,  the  standing  trees  have  been  accurately  marked 
and  named  for  the  amateur  or  scientific  arboriculturist,  and 
nurseries  have  been  established  for  the  propagation  and  rearing 
of  all  kinds  of  trees  that  will  stand  the  vagaries  of  the  New 
York  climate.  In  addition,  there  is  a  fine  botanical  museum 
completed  in  the  spring  of  1902,  at  a  cost  of  $400,000,  and  a 
great  series  of  conservatories,  fifteen  in  number,  in  which  one 
will  find  all  kinds  of  tropical  trees  and  plants.  These,  also, 
were  completed  early  in  1902  and  are  at  all  times  free  to  the 
public. 

The  southeastern  section  of  the  park,  bordering  on  the 
Boston  Post-road  and  the  river  and  south  of  Pelham  Avenue, 
comprises  261  acres  and  is  in  charge  of  the  Zoological  Society. 
The  fine  collection  of  birds  and  beasts  is  open  free  to  the  public, 
except  on  Mondays  and  Wednesdays,  when  a  charge  of  twenty- 
five  cents  is  made.  There  are  about  sixty  buildings,  cages, 
and  ranges;  and  the  visitor  is  able  to  see  several  specimens  of 
the  American  bison,  which  once  swept  over  our  plains  in 
countless  thousands,  and  which,  before  the  advent  of  the  white 
man,  extended  their  feeding  grounds  east  of  the  Alleghanies. 
An  attempt  has  also  been  made  to  show  the  beaver  at  work, 
an  animal  that  once  occupied  our  Westchester  streams.  The 
favorite  object  of  attention  is  the  bear  pit,  and  the  antics 
of  these  animals  always  interest  a  crowd  of  gazers,  among 
whom  the  children  are  the  most  delighted.  The  "rocking- 
stone"  is  an  immense  boulder  weighing  several  tons,  left  here 
by  some  melting  glacier,  whose  course  is  plainly  marked  by 
the  scratches  on  the  exposed  rock  surfaces.  The  boulder  is 
so  nicely  balanced  that  a  slight  force  will  set  it  rocking. 

The  intention  of  the  Zoological  Society  is  not  only  to  furnish 
an  exhibition  of  animals  to  the  public,  but  also  to  afford  oppor- 
tunities for  a  study  of  their  habits,  forms,  and  peculiarities 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  309 


to  those  interested  in  nature  study.  It  is  their  intention  to 
erect  at  some  time  in  the  future  a  building  especially  designed 
for  the  use  of  artists  and  sculptors  where  studies  can  be  made 
from  the  live  model.  The  cage  will  be  thoroughly  and  prop- 
erly lighted,  and  platforms  arranged  for  the  accommodation 
of  twenty  artists.  It  is  hoped  that  with  such  facilities  there 
will  develop  a  school  of  American  animal  painters  and  sculp- 
tors second  to  none  in  the  world. 

Pelham  Avenue  develops  into  the  Bronx  and  Pelham  Bay 
Parkway,  a  fine  thoroughfare  four  hundred  feet  wide  and  two 
and  a  quarter  miles  long,  connecting  Bronx  Park  with  Pelham 
Bay  Park.  For  almost  its  whole  length  it  is  paralleled  by  an 
asphalt  brick  roadway,  opened  in  191 1  and  restricted  to 
automobiles. 

Pelham  Bay  Park  is  the  largest  park  in  the  city,  including 
within  its  boundaries  1756  acres,  over  twice  as  many  as 
Central  Park.  It  has  over  seven  miles  of  water  front  on  the 
Sound  and  Pelham  Bay,  from  which  latter  it  takes  its  name. 
It  was  acquired  by  the  (old)  city  of  New  York  in  1888,  seven 
years  before  the  annexation  of  Westchester  and  Pelham,  in 
which  former  ancient  townships  it  lies ;  it  also  includes  Hunter 
Island  and  the  Twin  islands  adjoining. 

The  Hutchinson  River  and  Eastchester  Bay  divide  the 
park  into  two  parts,  the  more  northerly,  Pelham  Neck  (the 
ancient  Annes  Hoeck)  and  Rodman's  Neck  being  very  much 
the  larger.  The  northern  boundary  of  this  part  is  the  city 
line ;  the  eastern,  the  Sound ;  the  western,  the  Hutchinson  River. 
The  smaller  section  south  of  Pelham  Bridge  is  rather  irregular 
in  shape,  lying  between  Furmen's  Lane  and  the  three  hamlets 
of  Bay  Chester,  Stinardtown,  and  Middletown. 

The  Eastern  Boulevard  passes  through  the  park  from  south 
to  north,  changing  its  name  to  the  Pelham  Bridge,  or  more 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


popularly,  the  Shore  Road,  after  it  crosses  the  bridge  near  the 
mouth  of  Hutchinson's  River.  The  Suburban  branch  of  the 
New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  Railroad  traverses 
the  park  from  north  to  south,  having  stations  at  Bay  Chester, 
on  the  edge  of  the  park,  and  at  Bartow,  within  it.  From  this 
latter,  the  City  Island  Road  leads  east  to  the  end  of  Rodman's 
Neck  and  over  the  bridge  to  City  Island.  Connecting  Bartow 
with  the  village  of  Pelham  Manor,  at  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  park,  is  the  Prospect  Hill  Road,  better  known  as  the 
"Split  Rock"  Road. 

This  whole  section  consisted  of  farms  and  estates  bordering 
on  the  Sound  and  belonging  to  the  old  families  and  their 
descendants— Drake,  Pell,  Furmen,  Morris,  Bartow,  Hunter, 
Schuyler,  Spencer,  Rodman,  Marshall,  are  among  the  names 
we  find  as  owners;  and  a  good  deal  of  the  property  had  been 
in  the  families  since  colonial  days.  Many  of  the  old  mansions 
erected  subsequent  to  1 840  still  remain  and  are  rented  by  the 
Park  Department;  several  are  used  as  restuarants  and  road- 
houses,  and  several  of  them  as  tenements  for  laborers  and 
employees  of  the  park.  The  occupants  of  these  mansions  in 
the  days  that  are  past  formed  a  true  country  aristocracy,  not 
only  of  birth  and  wealth,  but  of  education,  culture,  and  refine- 
ment. Some  of  the  oldest  houses  were  removed  in  1902  and 
the  park  commissioner  utilized  the  materials  in  the  erection 
of  forty-two  free  bath-houses  along  the  shore  south  of  the 
bridge.  These  were  so  well  patronized  that  the  department 
has  constructed  more.  In  February,  1903,  a  number  of  the 
older  remaining  houses  were  sold  at  auction  with  the  proviso 
that  they  should  be  removed  within  thirty  days. 

When  Howe  occupied  Throgg's  Neck  in  October,  1776,  he 
attempted  to  cross  Westchester  Creek  both  at  Westchester 
town  and  at  the  head  of  the  creek,  about  where  the  Bronx 


Memorial  Tablet  on  Glover's  Rock,  Pelham  Bay  Park. 


The  "  Split  Rock  "  Boulder  on  the  Prospect  Hill  Road,  Pelham  Bay  Park. 


The  Tree  under  which  Pell  Made  his  Treaty  with  the  Indians  and  Purchased  their 
Lands  (now  destroyed) — Pelham  Bay  Park. 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries 


and  Pelham  Bay  Parkway  crosses  the  Westchester  meadows. 
Hand's  Riflemen  constituted  the  outposts  at  both  places  and 
successfully  resisted  the  British  attempts,  being  supported 
at  the  head  of  the  creek  by  Colonel  Graham  with  a  regiment 
of  Westchester  County  militia  and  by  Captain  Jackson  with  a 
six-pounder.  Howe,  having  failed  in  these  attempts  to  get 
across  the  creek  on  Washington's  flank,  was  obliged  to  cross 
from  Throgg's  Neck  to  Rodman's  Neck  in  boats,  landing 
near  the  Bowne  house1  and  marching  toward  what  is  now 
Bartow  station.  It  was  here  that  he  came  in  contact  with 
Colonel  Glover,  whom  he  succeeded  in  driving  back,  but  with 
heavy  losses  to  himself.  A  tablet  bearing  the  following  in- 
scription has  been  affixed  to  the  large  boulder  at  the  point 
where  the  battle  began: 

GLOVER'S  ROCK 
IN  MEMORY  OF  THE  550  PATRIOTS 
WHO,  LED  BY  COL.  JOHN  GLOVER,  HELD 
GEN.  HOWE'S  ARMY  IN  CHECK  AT  THE 
BATTLE  OF  PELL'S  POINT 
OCTOBER  18,  1776, 
THUS  AIDING  WASHINGTON  IN  HIS 
RETREAT  TO  WHITE  PLAINS. 
FAME  IS  THE  PERFUME  OF  HEROIC  DEEDS. 


ERECTED  BY  BRONX  CHAPTER  OF  MOUNT  VERNON, 

N.  Y. 

DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 
OCTOBER  18,  1901. 

Glover's  retreat  was  by  way  of  the  "Split  Rock"  Road. 

1  The  Bowne  house  was  occupied  for  several  years  by  the  Morris  Yacht 
Club,  but  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  February,  1904. 


/ 


312 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


This  gets  its  name  from  a  remarkable  boulder  which  lies 
alongside  the  road  not  far  from  the  city  line.  A  tree  grows  out 
of  the  split  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  the  observer  the  idea  that 
the  tree  is  the  cause  of  the  separation  of  the  two  parts  of  the 
rock.  The  road  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  is  a  favorite  with  drivers.  It  is  shady  in  the  summer 
time,  and  the  views  of  the  valley  of  Hutchinson's  River  are 
very  attractive. 

As  we  stand  near  the  rock  and  look  over  the  meadows  below, 
we  are  overlooking  the  site  of  Anne  Hutchinson's  house.  The 
exact  spot  has  never  been  determined,  and  probably  never 
will  be;  but  those  who  are  interested  in  such  matters  incline 
to  the  opinion  that  the  house  stood  somewhere  near  the  spring 
a  few  yards  south  of  the  boulder.  However  that  may  be, 
it  can  only  be  a  few  rods  distant  from  the  rock  to  where  that 
energetic  and  accomplished,  but  unfortunate,  woman  met  her 
death  at  the  hands  of  the  murderous  Weckquaesgeeks  when 
on  the  war-path  in  1643.  Her  name  still  lives  in  history, 
and  her  connection  with  this  locality  is  perpetuated  in  the 
name  of  the  tidal  stream  below,  the  Hutchinson  River.  In 
the  near  distance  rises  the  tower  of  old  St.  Paul's  Church, 
Eastchester,  and  in  the  farther  distance  rise  the  steeples  and 
roofs  of  the  city  of  Mount  Vernon. 

Near  the  Shore  Road,  a  few  hundred  feet  from  the  entrance 
to  the  City  Island  Road,  on  the  left,  is  a  rocky  islet  in  the 
meadow,  to  which  a  disused  causeway  leads.  If  one  can 
withstand  the  mosquitoes,  which  are  very  much  in  evidence 
on  the  whole  water  front  of  the  Chester  district,  a  trip  aside 
to  this  islet  will  show  to  the  visitor  a  number  of  holes  in  the 
solid  rock,  similar  to  the  pot-holes  made  by  the  grinding  action 
of  gravel  and  running  water,  in  which,  according  to  tradition, 
the  Indians  used  to  grind  their  corn.    On  the  left,  beyond  the 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  313 


causeway  where  the  battle  began,  there  is  an  ancient  Indian 
burial  ground  from  which  a  number  of  skeletons  and  other 
remains  have  been  unearthed  by  curious  seekers.  Nearby  is 
the  boulder  called  " Jack's  Rock." 

Directly  opposite  the  point  where  the  Split  Rock  Road 
enters  the  Shore  Road,  a  lane  leads  down  to  the  water's  edge 
through  the  Bartow  place  and  to  the  ancient  burial-place  of 
the  Pell  family,  in  which  several  of  the  manor-lords  are  buried. 
The  plot  is  surrounded  by  a  fence  with  square  granite  posts  at 
each  corner,  upon  each  one  of  which  there  is  carved  a  pelican, 
the  crest  of  the  Pells.  They  also  bear  the  following  inscriptions : 


2ND  LORD  OF  THE  MANOR.      GRANDSON  OF 


AND  FIRST  MEMBER  LORD  OF  THE  MANOR. 
PROVINCIAL  ASSEMBLY 


{North) 
INDIAN  GRANT 
OF 

PELHAM  MANOR 
TO 

THOMAS  PELL 
NOV.  14,  1654. 

{South) 
ROYAL  PATENT 
OCT.  25,  1687 
JAMES  II. 
TO 

JOHN  PELL 


{West) 
ROYAL  PATENT 

OCT.  6,  1666. 
DUKE  OF  YORK 
TO 

THOMAS  PELL 
1ST  LORD  OF  THE  MANOR. 


{East) 

PELHAM  BAY  PARK 
1884 

ERECTED  1891 
BY  DESCENDANTS  OF 
BENJAMIN  PELL 


FIRST  JUDGE,  1688 


THOMAS  PELL 


1691 

OF  WESTCHESTER  COUNTY. 


[LAWS  OF  N.  Y.  CHAP.  474,  1890.] 


3H 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Many  of  the  ancient  inscriptions  have  been  recarved  so 
that  they  are  fairly  legible.  The  oldest  bears  the  following : 
"her  lyes  isec  pell  d.  dec.  14,  anno  1748."  In  1862, 
a  white  marble  slab  was  erected  by  James  K.  Pell,  Esq.,  "to 
mark  the  spot  where  lie  buried  the  mortal  remains  of  several 
of  the  descendants  of  john  pell,  the  son  of  the  rev.  john 
pell,  d.d.  and  nephew  of  thomas  pell,  the  first  proprietor 
of  the  Lordship  and  Manor  of  Pelham. " 

There  are  also  several  mounds  upon  the  place,  supposedly 
of  Indian  origin.  Upon  the  lawn  in  front  of  the  house  used 
to  stand  in  solitary  state  the  stump  of  a  fine  oak  tree,  whose 
top  had  been  blown  off  in  some  storm  about  twenty-five  feet 
from  the  ground,  so  that  it  looked  like  an  enormous  bush. 
This  is  stated  to  have  been  the  identical  tree  under  whose 
branches  the  original  proprietor,  Thomas  Pell,  bought  from 
the  Indian  sachems  the  lands  in  the  vicinity.  The  tree  was 
protected  for  many  years  by  an  iron  fence ;  but  leaves  and  other 
rubbish  gathered  inside  and  were  not  taken  away.  Some 
careless  person  threw  a  lighted  article  of  some  kind  among 
the  rubbish,  with  the  result  that  the  tree  was  entirely  destroyed 
April  8,  1906,  and  nothing  now  remains  except  the  fence.  One 
of  the  manor-houses  also  stood  on  the  same  lawn  southwest 
of  the  present  Bartow  mansion,  erected  about  1850. 

Going  north  on  the  Shore  Road,  we  pass  the  public  golf 
links  and  come  to  the  stone  gateway  marking  the  entrance  to 
Hunter's  Island.  This  was  originally  a  part  of  the  manor  of 
Pelham,  and  has  also  been  known  as  Appleby  and  Henderson's 
Island.  In  1743,  it  was  owned  by  Joshua  Pell,  a  grandson  of 
the  first  manor-lord,  from  whom  it  passed  to  the  Hunts  and 
Hendersons,  and  from  them,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  to  John  Hunter,  a  gentleman  of  Scotch  extraction, 
from  whom  it  received  its  present  name.    His  son,  Elias  des 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  315 


Brosses  Hunter  (1 800-1 865)  succeeded  to  the  property  and 
erected  the  great  mansion  of  brick  and  stone  which  is  located 
about  the  middle  of  the  island  and  at  its  highest  point.  The 
mansion  was  erected  about  1850,  and  as  the  park  authorities 
have  no  money  to  care  for  it  properly  it  has  been  allowed  to 
fall  into  a  sad  state  of  disrepair.1  The  rooms  are  of  grand 
size  and  proportions  and  the  magnificent  and  costly  fire-places 
and  mantels  of  beautifully  carved,  rare  woods  are  particularly 
noticeable.  One  can  readily  believe  that  Joseph  Bonaparte 
offered  a  large  sum  for  this  little  island  before  making  his  home 
at  Bordentown,  New  Jersey.  The  house  has  been  occupied 
during  the  summer  months  by  the  children  in  care  of  the 
"Little  Mothers"  Society  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 
In  1888,  when  Pelham  Bay  Park  was  formed,  the  Hunter's 
Island  property  belonged  to  Columbus  Iselin.  Opposite 
the  gateway,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Shore  Road,  are  the 
property  and  mansion  belonging  formerly  to  Elizabeth  De 
Lancey,  a  daughter  of  Elias  Hunter.  The  mansion  is  now 
used  as  a  road-house,  and  is  known  as  the  "Hunter's  Island 
Inn." 

We  cross  a  bridge  to  a  small  island  where  there  is  an  entrance 
lodge,  and  then  over  a  causeway  to  Hunter's  Island  itself. 
Here  a  choice  of  roads  presents  itself.  The  middle  road  takes 
us  up  to  the  Hunter  mansion  and  the  southern  one  leads  along 
the  shore  to  the  causeways  connecting  the  two  small  islands 
called  the  "Twins"  with  Hunter's  Island.  Upon  the  outer 
Twin  Island,  there  is  a  handsome  house,  which  was  built  and 
occupied  by  James  D.  Fish  before  his  crooked  dealings  with 
the  firm  of  Grant  &  Ward  brought  him  to  ruin  and  the 
penitentiary.  It  is  now  rented  by  the  Park  Department  to 
the  Jacob  Riis  Settlement  during  the  warm  months.    In  the 

1  This  is  because  all  rents  must  be  paid  into  the  Sinking  Fund. 


/ 


316  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 

summer  time,  a  number  of  parties  get  permission  from  the 
Park  Department  to  camp  out  along  the  shore.  Upon  one 
visit,  the  author  came  across  a  party  from  the  De  La  Salle 
Institute,  whose  members  were  engaged  in  practical  field 
work  in  surveying,  having  surveyed  the  island  and  its  sur- 
roundings in  true  Coast  Survey  fashion.  On  the  northeast 
end  of  the  island  is  a  great  boulder,  known  as  the  "Gray 
Mare  " ;  and  on  the  southeast  end  is  another  one,  known  as  the 
great  Indian  rock  "  Mishow, "  around  which,  tradition  asserts, 
the  Indians  used  to  conduct  their  religious  and  other  rites. 
As  will  be  seen  in  the  picture,  advantage  has  been  taken  by 
some  campers  of  the  laxity  of  supervision  on  the  part  of  the 
park  officers  to  deface  the  rock  with  the  name  of  their  camp. 
In  1905,  a  regular  camping-out  place  was  opened  on  Rodman's 
Neck,  north  of  the  City  Island  Bridge,  to  which  the  name 
Orchard  Beach  has  been  given;  it  is  very  well  patronized  as  a 
summer  beach  city,  and  the  other  place  has  been  closed. 

From  time  immemorial,  all  the  waters  surrounding  these 
islands  have  been  famous  for  the  quantity  and  diversity  of 
the  fish  that  have  been  caught  in  them.  On  Sundays  and 
holidays,  the  waters  are  dotted  with  the  boats  of  the  fishermen, 
who  come  here  from  the  distant  city  for  a  day's  sport.  Many 
Indian  relics  have  been  found  in  the  neighborhood,  including 
hatchets  and  tomahawks  of  stone,  and  arrows  and  javelins  of 
flint,  quartz,  and  horn.  That  it  was  a  favorite  place  with  the 
aborigines  is  shown  by  the  great  number  of  shell  beds,  or 
mounds,  that  one  finds  along  the  shores  of  the  Sound,  or  by 
the  quantities  of  broken  shells  that  are  turned  up  by  the  plough 
in  the  fields.  The  quahaug,  or  hard  clam,  furnished  most  of 
these  shells;  as  from  them,  the  Indian  made  his  sewant,  or 
wampum,  which  was  used  as  money,  as  well  as  figuring  in 
many  of  his  ceremonies,  and,  also,  for  recording  history. 


The  Indian  Rock  called  "  Mishow,"  Hunter's  Island,  Pelham  Bay  Park. 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  317 


In  consequence,  the  whole  country  around  about — what  was 
virtually  Pell's  purchase — was  called  by  the  Indians  Laap- 
hawachking,  or  the  "place  of  stringing  beads. " 

The  smaller  section  of  the  park  south  of  Hutchinson's 
River  is  at  the  northern  end  of  Throgg's  Neck,  and  was 
called  in  colonial  times  "Dorman's  Island,"  and  later  "Tay- 
lor's Island."  That  there  was  some  kind  of  a  road  leading 
to  it  from  the  borough-town  of  Westchester,  the  map  of 
Sauthier,  inaccurate  as  it  is,  plainly  shows.  Where  this 
Road  comes  into  the  Shore  Road  there  are  an  athletic  field  for 
outdoor  sports,  and  a  parade  ground  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
acres,  opened  September  10,  1904. 

In  March,  18 12,  the  Legislature  incorporated  the  East- 
Chester  Bridge  Company,  and  the  bridge  over  the  Hutchinson 
River  near  its  mouth  was  built  soon  after.  In  1817,  the 
Westchester  and  Pelham  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated 
for  the  purpose  of  building  a  turnpike  from  the  causeway  at 
Westchester  to  the  above  mentioned  bridge,  following  prob- 
ably the  lane  of  Sauthier 's  map.  The  first  bridge  was 
destroyed  by  a  storm,  and  the  company  was  authorized  by 
the  Legislature  of  18 16  to  sell  its  property  and  franchises  for 
a  period  of  forty-five  years.  The  second  bridge  was  built 
in  1834  by  George  Rapelje,  with  the  right  to  charge  tolls  for 
a  period  of  thirty  years;  but  the  supervisors  of  Westchester 
County  purchased  the  bridge  in  i860  and  made  it  free.  The 
former  iron  bridge  was  constructed  in  1869-70;  but  it  proved 
insufficient  for  the  traffic  after  the  automobile  arrived,  and  it 
was  replaced  by  the  present  larger  bridge,  opened  by  the  Depart- 
ment of  Bridges  on  October  15,  1908,  at  a  cost  of  $517,000. 

The  bridge  has  always  been  famous  for  the  good  fishing 
to  be  obtained  from  it,  and  the  author  remembers  having 
made  several  trips  to  it  when  a  very  small  boy,  walking  from 


3i 8  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Mt.  Vernon  and  back  with  his  companions  by  way  of  East- 
chester  and  the  Split  Rock  Road.  Bolton  gives  records  of  a 
striped  bass  weighing  sixty-three  pounds,  being  caught  on 
June  3,  1844,  °f  another  of  fifty  pounds,  caught  by  E.  des 
Brosses  Hunter,  and  of  others  of  twenty  and  forty-three 
pounds  at  various  times.  "  There  were  giants  in  those  days !" 
Flounders,  tom-cod,  eels,  and  fish  of  all  kinds,  including  an 
occasional  sheepshead,  are  also  mentioned  by  the  same  author. 
The  best  time  for  fishing  is  in  the  months  of  September  and 
October.  The  stream  was  formerly  clear,  but  for  many  years 
it  has  been  polluted  by  the  sewage  of  Mt.  Vernon  and  the 
outpourings  of  the  gas-works  at  Eastchester,  and  the  fish 
are  not  so  plentiful  as  formerly. 

Crotona  Park  lies  between  Third  and  Arthur  avenues  on 
the  west  and  east,  and  Fulton  and  Tremont  avenues  on  the 
south  and  north.  It  originally  contained  141  acres,  but 
thirteen  more  have  been  added.  Bungay  Creek,  the  boundary 
between  the  manor  of  Morrisania  and  the  West  Farms  patent, 
had  its  origin  within  the  park.  It  is  also  famous  for  its  trees, 
which  one  writer  states  are  not  surpassed  by  anything  this 
side  of  the  Adirondacks.  The  property  formerly  belonged 
to  the  Bathgate  family,  whose  ancestor,  Alexander,  came  from 
Scotland  early  in  the  nineteenth  century  and  became  foreman 
for  the  first  Gouverneur  Morris,  and  bought  the  farm  from  the 
second.  Alexander's  brother  James  was  also  a  farmer  at  Ford- 
ham  ;  his  farm  was  taken  by  the  Jerome  Park  Racing  Associ- 
ation. In  the  northwest  corner  of  the  park,  facing  Third 
Avenue,  is  the  Borough  Hall,  containing  the  offices  of  the 
Borough  departments,  except  that  of  parks.  It  is  a  fine  build- 
ing, erected  in  1897,  and  stands  on  an  elevation  which  is 
approached  by  an  imposing  flight  of  steps  in  terraces.  In  the 
rear  of  the  building  there  is  a  field  for  base-ball,  and  about  the 


Pelham  Bridge,  over  Eastchester  Creek,  Pelham  Bay  Park 


.~"'v.:7**ap 


The  New  Pelham  Bridge. 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  319 


middle  of  the  park  there  is  an  athletic  field ;  tennis-courts  are 
also  at  the  service  of  the  public. 

Saint  Mary's  Park  comprises  28.7  acres  lying  between 
St.  Ann's  and  Robbins  avenues  and  between  East  149th 
Street  and  St.  Mary's  Avenue,  not  far  from  old  St.  Ann's 
Church.  The  park  formerly  possessed  a  small  lake  fed  by 
natural  springs,  which  has  been  filled  up.  From  the  highest 
point  in  the  park,  before  the  neighborhood  was  built  up,  fine 
views  were  to  be  had  of  both  the  Harlem  and  East  rivers. 
The  park  is  on  land  formerly  belonging  to  Gouveraeur 
Morris. 

Claremont  Park  contains  thirty-eight  acres,  and  is  triangu- 
lar in  shape,  its  base,  or  northern  boundary,  being  Belmont 
Street,  and  its  sides  being  on  the  east  Clay  Avenue,  and  on 
the  west  Teller  Avenue.  It  touches  both  Webster  Avenue 
and  East  170th  Street.  The  park  is  on  a  commanding 
position  to  the  west  of  the  ancient  Mill  Brook,  and  is  on  prop- 
erty formerly  belonging  to  the  Zboroski  family,  which  was 
obtained  from  the  Morrisania  estate  by  the  marriage  of 
Martin  Zboroski  with  Anna  Morris.  The  Zboroski  mansion, 
built  in  1859,  is  a  fine  stone  mansion  near  the  northern  end  of 
the  park  and  is  used  for  the  office  of  the  Park  Department  of 
The  Bronx.  Upon  the  west  side  of  the  house  is  the  date  1859, 
and  upon  the  south  gable  there  is  the  date  1676,  the  year  in 
which  Lewis  Morris  received  his  patent  to  the  land  from  Gover- 
nor Andros.  The  house  contains  some  fine  marble  mantels; 
and  on  each  side  of  the  east  entrance,  let  into  the  stonework, 
are  three  fine  alto-relievos  in  white  marble  of  scenes  from  Greek 
mythology.  The  views  from  the  mansion  to  the  south  and 
west  are  particularly  fine,  as  the  site  is  a  high  one.  There  are 
tennis-courts  and  a  base-ball  field.  The  park  is  connected  with 
Crotona  Park  by  means  of  Wendover  Avenue.    It  also  con- 


320 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


tains  many  magnificent  specimens  of  trees,  some  of  them  of 
rare  varieties. 

The  only  other  piece  of  property  obtained  in  1888  is  a  strip 
one  hundred  feet  wide  connecting  Crotona  Park  with  Bronx 
Park.  This  lies  east  of  the  Southern  Boulevard  and  extends 
along  the  western  side  of  Bronx  Park.  It  is  known  as  Crotona 
Parkway  and  was  opened  in  1910  at  an  expense  of  $255,500. 

The  other  parks  within  the  Borough  have  been  bought  since 
those  mentioned  above.  Macomb's  Dam  Park  was  acquired 
in  1899.  It  lies  between  Jerome  and  Cromwell  avenues, 
and  East  1626.  Street  and  the  Harlem  River,  covering  an  area 
of  twenty-seven  acres.  A  large  part  of  this  park  included  the 
swampy  and  marshy  land  bordering  Cromwell's  Creek,  and 
much  of  this  has  been  filled  in  without  cost  to  the  city  by  allow- 
ing contractors  to  dump  here  the  materials  they  have  removed 
from  excavations.  There  are  an  athletic  field,  base-ball 
fields,  and  tennis-courts. 

Echo  Park  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  smaller  parks 
of  the  Borough.  It  comprises  three  acres  at  Mount  Hope, 
lying  west  of  Webster  Avenue.  It  gets  its  name  from  a  well- 
defined  echo  that  can  be  heard,  so  it  is  said,  between  two 
great  masses  of  rock  within  its  boundaries.  Until  it  was 
acquired  by  the  Park  Department  in  1902  it  had  been  used 
by  the  Highway  Bureau  as  a  dumping-ground. 

University  Park  is  a  side-hill  park  in  front  of  the  land  of 
the  New  York  University.  It  contains  three  acres,  and  was 
acquired  by  the  city  in  1901. 

St.  James  Park  gets  its  name  from  the  fact  that  it  adjoins 
St.  James's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  on  Jerome  Avenue, 
near  Fordham  cross-road.  It  comprises  nearly  twelve  acres 
and  was  acquired  in  190 1.  It  was  a  low,  wet,  marshy  tract, 
but  it  has  been  cleaned  up  and  drained. 


Poe's  Cottage,  Fordham. 
From  a  photo  by  A.  A.  Stoughton,  1885. 


The  Farragut  Monument  in  Woodlawn  Cemetery 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  321 


Poe  Park  contains  two  acres  obtained  in  1902.  It  lies  on 
the  Kingsbridge  Road  west  of  the  Harlem  Railroad  and  east  of 
Jerome  Avenue,  distant  about  half  a  mile  from  each.  It  gets 
its  name  from  the  Poe  cottage  directly  opposite  the  park. 

Washington  Bridge  Park,  containing  nine  acres,  was  ob- 
tained in  1899.  It  lies  at  the  northerly  end  of  Washington 
Bridge  and  has  been  fully  developed. 

Melrose  Park  of  one  acre  was  obtained  in  August,  1902. 
De  Voe  Park  is  a  small  park  of  about  six  acres  on  Fordham 
Road,  near  Sedgwick  Avenue;  it  was  bought  in  1907,  and 
opened  in  1910;  it  adjoins  Webb's  Academy.  Joseph  Rodman 
Drake  Park  is  situated  on  Hunt's  Point  and  contains  two  and 
a  half  acres.  It  contains  the  old  Hunt  burial-ground  and  the 
grave  of  the  poet  Drake;  it  was  opened  in  1910.  It  was 
planned  to  have  a  park  at  the  extremity  of  Hunt's  Point, 
containing  something  less  than  ten  acres;  but  owing  to  the 
scandal  attached  to  the  acquisition  of  the  property  it  has  been 
turned  back  into  the  Sinking  Fund.  In  addition,  there  is 
the  proposed  park  at  Seton's  Falls,  upon  the  northern  bound- 
ary of  the  city.  There  are  other  plans  of  improvement  in 
view,  but  their  execution  depends  upon  what  the  Board  of 
Estimate  and  Apportionment  will  allow  from  year  to  year. 
Besides  the  parks  named  above,  there  are  22.6  acres  of  im- 
proved, unnamed  parks. 

Cemeteries:  While  there  are  several  small  cemeteries, 
usually  attached  to  some  of  the  older  churches,  there  are  only 
two  of  any  considerable  size,  Woodlawn  and  Saint  Raymond's. 

Woodlawn  Cemetery  was  organized  December  29,  1863, 

and  the  first  interment  was  made  January  14,  1865;  the  total 

number  of  interments  to  January  1,  1912,  is  81,796.    At  the 

time  of  the  purchase  of  the  land  for  the  cemetery  this  section 

was  wholly  rural,  and  there  was  no  prospect  that  the  land 
21 


322 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


would  ever  be  within  the  corporate  limits  of  New  York  City. 
The  cemetery  comprises  four  hundred  acres  on  the  westerly 
side  of  the  Bronx  River  in  the  former  township  of  Kingsbridge, 
with  Webster  Avenue  for  its  eastern,  and  Woodlawn  Road 
and  Jerome  Avenue  for  its  western  boundaries.  On  the  north 
it  extends  to  East  233d  Street  and  on  the  south  almost  to  the 
Gun  Hill  Road.  The  ground  is  high  and  is  on  the  northerly 
end  of  the  Fordham  ridge,  which  separates  the  Harlem  and 
Bronx  valleys.  In  colonial  days  it  was  heavily  wooded,  and 
it  was  within  the  sheltering  shadows  of  its  trees  that  Colonel 
Simcoe  placed  his  own  rangers  and  the  dragoons  of  Tarleton 
upon  August  31,  1778,  when  he  planned  the  ambush  for  the 
force  of  Colonel  Gist  and  his  Indian  allies. 

In  1900,  the  city  took  a  strip  from  the  eastern  side  of  the 
cemetery  for  the  extension  of  Webster  Avenue.  This  de- 
stroyed the  beautiful  pond  and  the  parterres  of  flowers  which 
were  so  conspicuous  for  many  years  to  the  passengers  on  the 
Harlem  and  New  Haven  railroads.  A  fine  granite  bulkhead 
with  iron-railed  top  now  constitutes  the  eastern  side  of  the 
cemetery.  The  southerly  boundary  is  a  fence  which  cuts  off 
the  approach  to  the  old  Revolutionary  redoubt  constructed 
by  the  orders  of  General  Heath  to  command  the  Boston 
Road  and  the  bridge  over  the  Bronx  River.  The  old  fort  is 
only  a  few  feet  within  the  fence. 

The  cemetery  has  two  main  carriage  entrances,  one  at  the 
northeast  corner,  close  to  the  Harlem  Railroad  station,  and 
the  other  at  Jerome  Avenue  at  its  junction  with  Woodlawn 
Road.  Near  both  are  situated  monument  makers,  gardeners, 
florists,  and  "hotels. "  Why  is  it  that  near  cemetery  entrances 
there  are  always  located  so  many  "hotels,"  whose  chief  func- 
tion seems  to  be  to  dispense  liquid  refreshments?  Are  mourn- 
ers and  drivers  of  hearses  and  coaches  such  a  thirsty  lot? 


The  Parks  and  Cemeteries  323 


Or  do  visitors  go  to  a  cemetery  as  they  would  to  a  park  or 
museum,  and  make  a  picnic  of  their  visit? 

The  grounds  of  the  cemetery  are  kept  in  beautiful  condition, 
and  many  fine  pieces  of  sculpture,  mausoleums,  and  other 
mortuary  emblems  ornament  the  grounds.  Among  the  names 
on  these  we  find  many  that  are  famous  in  New  York's  mercan- 
tile, commercial,  or  historic  life,  and  one  whose  fame  extends 
beyond  the  confines  of  city  or  nation,  that  of  our  great, 
first  admiral,  who  was  buried  here  in  1870,  David  Glasgow 
Farragut. 

The  monument  is  of  white  marble  and  represents  a  broken 
mast  with  a  row  of  belaying  pins  near  its  base.  At  the  foot 
of  the  mast  are  coils  of  rope,  a  sword,  and  various  other 
nautical  paraphernalia,  as  well  as  symbolic  shields.  On  the 
western  side  is  inscribed: 

v 

ERECTED 
BY  HIS  WIFE  AND  SON 
TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 

DAVID  GLASGOW  FARRAGUT, 

FIRST  ADMIRAL  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  NAVY. 
BORN  JULY  5,  I80I, 
DIED  AUGUST  14,  187O. 

Upon  the  south  side  is  the  inscription: 

VIRGINIA  D.  FARRAGUT, 
WIFE  OF 
DAVID  GLASGOW  FARRAGUT. 
BORN  NOVEMBER  24,  1824, 
DIED  OCTOBER  31,   1 884. 

On  the  east  face  is  an  inscription  to  the  wife  of  Loyall 
Farragut,  the  son  of  the  Admiral. 


3^4 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


St.  Raymond's  Cemetery  is  a  Roman  Catholic  burying- 
ground, incorporated  in  1878,  and  situated  on  the  Fort  Schuyler 
Road  on  Throgg's  Neck,  near  the  Eastern  Boulevard.  It 
at  first  comprised  thirty-six  acres,  but  has  since  been  increased 
by  fifty  more.  The  number  of  burials  to  January  1,  19 12,  is 
53,000,  nearly  all  of  inhabitants  of  the  Borough.  The  prop- 
erty was  formerly  a  part  of  the  Ferris  estate,  though  the 
cemetery  company  bought  from  a  Mrs.  Underhill.  In  opening 
some  of  the  graves  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  grounds  great 
quantities  of  shells  have  been  thrown  out,  showing  that  this 
was  formerly  a  feasting  place  of  the  Indians. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


KINGSB  RIDGE 

THE  northwest  corner  of  the  Borough  at  Mount  Saint 
Vincent  was  a  part  of  the  Philipseburgh  Manor;  and 
when  the  Commissioners  of  Forfeiture  sold  the  seques- 
trated estates  of  Colonel  Frederick  Philipse  in  1785,  Captain 
John  Warner  of  the  Revolutionary  army  became  the  purchaser 
of  a  large  farm,  extending  for  half  a  mile  along  the  Hudson. 
A  part  of  the  farm  came  into  the  possession  of  the  famous  actor, 
Edwin  Forrest,  in  1847.  He  called  his  place  "Font  Hill," 
and  he  erected  upon  it  a  handsome,  castellated  stone  residence, 
intending  that,  after  his  death,  it  should  become  a  home  for 
aged  actors.  The  plan  of  the  home  materialized,  but  it  is  not 
located  in  Y onkers,  as  this  was  known  until  1873.  "Forrest's 
Castle, "  as  the  building  is  frequently  called,  has  been  for  many 
years  prominent  among  the  many  beautiful  and  palatial 
residences  that  adorn  the  river  banks.  In  December,  1856, 
Forrest  disposed  of  his  property  to  the  Sisters  of  Charity. 

The  Sisters  of  Charity  is  a  society  of  women  regularly  in- 
corporated under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York.  It  is 
one  of  the  numerous  benevolent  associations  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  has  various  branches  throughout  the 
State,  conducting  hospitals,  schools,  asylums,  and  charitable 
work  of  all  kinds.    The  headquarters  of  the  society  are  at 

325 


326 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Mount  Saint  Vincent  de  Paul,  where  they  own  a  picturesque 
tract  of  fifty  acres,  purchased  in  1856.  Here  they  conduct  a 
famous  academy  for  the  education  of  girls  irrespective  of 
religious  sect,  as  well  as  a  convent  for  the  instruction  of 
novices  of  the  Order.  The  main  building  is  an  imposing  brick 
structure,  five  hundred  feet  long  and  three  stories  in  height. 
The  southern  half  is  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  the  academy 
and  the  northern  half  to  those  of  the  convent.  The  Forrest 
mansion  is  used  as  a  residence  for  the  chaplain ;  and  it  is  also 
used  as  a  library  and  museum  for  a  fine  collection  of  natural- 
history  specimens,  the  mineral  exhibit  being  particularly 
good,  and  for  a  numismatic  collection  of  coins  and  medals. 

The  views  of  the  river  are  magnificent  in  all  directions ;  for, 
directly  across,  the  Palisades  reach  their  greatest  height.  A 
rocky  point,  called  "Switcher's  rock"  in  colonial  days,  extends 
beyond  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  tracks  and  makes  a 
convenient  bathing-place,  as  well  as  a  small  park  directly  on 
the  water.  The  grounds  are  beautifully  kept,  and  are  so 
extensive  that  many  farm  products  are  easily  raised.  At  both 
entrances,  the  Yonkers  and  the  railroad,  visitors  are  notified 
by  signs  that  all  admittance  is  prohibited. 

Immediately  south  of  Mount  St.  Vincent  is  Riverdale, 
which  is  partially  located  on  the  old  farm  of  George  Hadley, 
bought  from  the  Commissioners  of  Forfeiture  in  1785.  In 
1843,  about  one  hundred  acres  were  acquired  by  William  G. 
Ackerman;  and  ten  years  later  a  syndicate  bought  a  large 
part  of  the  Ackerman  purchase  and  laid  it  out  as  a  village. 
The  construction  of  the  Hudson  River  Railroad  made  the 
property  accessible,  and  a  number  of  beautiful  residences  and 
estates  occupy  the  ground.  It  was  from  these  heights  that 
Generals  Heath  and  Clinton  witnessed  the  gallant  attempts 
of  the  fire-ships  to  destroy  the  British  war  vessels  in  September, 


Looking  from  Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck  toward  the  Hudson. 


Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck  from  near  the  Station. 


Kingsbridge 


327 


1776.  The  highest  point  of  land  in  the  Borough,  282  feet, 
is  in  Riverdale.  There  are  no  stores  in  Riverdale,  and  no 
village  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  The  genial  humorist, 
Mark  Twain,  lived  here  in  1901 ;  and  among  the  landowners 
and  residents  have  been  many  whose  names  have  been  famous 
in  the  political  and  mercantile  history  of  the  city. 

South  of  Riverdale  was  the  farm  of  William  Hadley ,  extend- 
ing from  the  Hudson  River  to  the  Albany  Post-road.  Hadley 
acquired  it  in  two  parcels :  one  from  Colonel  Jacobus,  or  James, 
Van  Cortlandt,  grandson  of  the  first  of  the  name,  in  1761, 
and  the  other  from  the  Commissioners  of  Forfeiture  in  1786. 
The  two  parcels,  comprising  257  acres,  were  bought  from 
Hadley's  executors  in  1829  by  Joseph  Delafield,  and  the 
property  remains  with  his  descendants  to  this  day. 

In  1853,  Hudson  Park  was  laid  out  by  a  land  company  in 
the  northwest  corner  of  the  Betts  and  Tippett  tract  of  1668, 
on  a  farm  formerly  belonging  to  Samuel  Thomson.  It  lies 
south  of  the  Delafield  property  mentioned  above. 

South  of  Hudson  Park  lies  the  bold  promontory  between 
the  Hudson  River  and  Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  which  has  been 
known  under  the  several  names  of  Shorrack-kappock,  Tippett's 
Neck,  Berrien's  Neck,  and  Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck,  the  first 
being  its  Indian  title  and  the  last  its  present  one.  It  was 
formerly  known  as  the  village  and  post-office  of  Spuyten 
Duyvil,  and  that  is  the  name  of  the  station  of  the  Central 
Railroad  to-day.  The  more  northerly  portion  comprised  a 
tract  of  356  acres  and  was  purchased  by  Frederick  Van  Cort- 
landt, brother  of  Colonel  James,  between  1768  and  1788  from 
several  owners  who  had  acquired  the  Betts  and  Tippett  tract 
by  purchase  or  inheritance.  Upon  the  eastern  side  of  the 
property,  overlooking  the  Albany  Post-road,  Van  Cortlandt 
erected  a  mansion  which,  during  the  Revolution,  was  known  as 


328  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


"Upper  Cortlandt' s, "  to  distinguish  it  from  the  mansion 
in  Van  Cortlandt  Park.  The  British  maintained  a  post  at 
Upper  Cortlandt's  from  1777  to  1779;  it  was  this  post  that 
General  Lincoln  captured  during  the  attack  upon  Fort  Inde- 
pendence under  Heath.  The  British  afterwards  reoccupied 
it,  and  from  it  went  many  an  expedition  to  harry  the  occupants 
of  the  Neutral  Ground.  The  old  house  was  burnt  about  1822. 
Its  site  is  occupied  by  a  large  stone  house,  formerly  belonging 
to  Waldo  Hutchins,  at  one  time  surrogate  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  The  property  passed  by  inheritance  from  Frederick 
Van  Cortlandt  to  his  brother  Augustus,  the  city  clerk  of  New 
York  in  1776.  By  purchase  from  his  heirs  in  1836,  James  R. 
Whiting  became  the  owner,  and  in  1840  he  erected  a  large 
stone  mansion  overlooking  the  Hudson.  The  next  year  he 
disposed  of  parcels  of  the  property,  and  the  section  is  now  one 
of  fine  residences,  most  of  which  are  a  half  to  three  quarters 
of  a  century  old. 

In  1892,  the  remnant  of  the  Whiting  property  came  into 
possession  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  who  occupied  the  large 
and  roomy  mansion  as  a  hospital  for  the  care  of  consumptives 
in  the  first  stages  of  the  disease.  Later,  a  fine  hospital  build- 
ing was  erected  on  Spuyten  Duyvil  Parkway,  the  whole  insti- 
tution being  known  as  Seton  Hospital.  It  furnishes  free 
relief  for  those  unable  to  pay,  and  has  thirty  rooms  for  pay 
patients;  it  can  accommodate  three  hundred  and  forty. 

Upon  its  extensive  grounds  formerly  stood  an  ancient  syca- 
more tree  which  was  known  as  the  "Cowboy  tree,"  a  local 
tradition  asserting  that  the  Americans  had  hanged  a  British 
marauder  upon  it  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution.  Several 
gorges  lead  from  the  steep  hillside  to  the  Hudson  below,  cut 
out  of  the  sandstone  by  the  erosive  action  of  water.  At  the 
head  of  one  of  these  gorges  a  small  stream  issues  from  under 


Kingsbridge 


329 


some  overhanging  rocks  which  form  a  natural  cave,  known 
locally  as  "  Indian  cave, "  from  the  tradition  that  two  of  Nim- 
ham's  band  of  Stockbridge  Indians  hid  here  from  the  pursuing 
troopers  of  Tarleton  after  their  defeat  by  Simcoe  near  Wood- 
lawn  Heights. 

The  southern  end  of  the  neck  was  formerly  the  home  tract 
of  George  Tippett  and  his  descendants,  the  Berriens.  The 
old  Berrien  homestead,  though  modernized,  still  stands  near 
the  end  of  the  neck,  commanding  a  magnificent  view  of  the 
Hudson  and  the  northern  end  of  Manhattan.  About  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  north  of  it  is  the  Strang  house,  built  originally  by  a 
Mr.  Cameron  within  the  ramparts  of  Fort  Number  One. 
The  house  is  now  occupied  by  William  C.  Muschenheim,  the 
proprietor  of  the  Hotel  Astor,  who,  on  November  5,  19 10, 
caused  a  suitable  bronze  tablet  to  be  unveiled  in  order  to 
properly  mark  so  historic  a  spot.  Some  distance  east  of 
Number  One  is  a  circular  tumulus,  the  remains  of  Number 
Two,  the  "Fort  Swartwout"  of  the  Americans,  and  the  Fort 
Independence  of  Sauthier's  map.  A  few  yards  east  of  it  is 
the  house  known  as  the  Warren  Sage  house,  which  occupies 
the  site  of  Number  Three,  which  commanded  the  King's 
Bridge,  and  from  which  there  is  a  fine  view  across  the  valley 
to  the  site  of  the  true  Fort  Independence  of  the  Americans  on 
Fordham  ridge. 

The  Indian  village  of  Nipnichsen  stood  on  the  neck,  and 
very  extensive  shell  mounds  still  exist  below  the  bluff,  show- 
ing that  this  was  a  favorite  place  of  resort  of  the  natives.  In 
1655,  while  Governor  Stuyvesant  was  absent  with  the  military 
forces  of  the  colony  on  his  expedition  against  the  Swedish 
Fort  Christina  on  the  Delaware,  a  band  of  nine  hundred 
savages  crossed  over  from  the  Jersey  shore  and  occupied  the 
neck  as  a  post  of  observation,  while  two  thousand  of  their 


330  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


companions  entered  the  city  of  New  Amsterdam  itself,  causing 
great  uneasiness  to  the  inhabitants;  they  were,  however, 
prevailed  upon  to  withdraw  to  Nutten  (now  Governor's)  Island. 

The  old  Tippett  house  stood  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  neck 
in  a  grove  of  locust  trees.  During  the  Revolution,  the  Tip- 
petts  were  loyalists,  and,  in  consequence,  lost  their  property 
by  confiscation.  It  was  sold  to  Samuel  Berrien,  who  had 
married  Dorcas,  a  daughter  of  George  Tippett;  another 
daughter  was  the  wife  of  the  celebrated  James  De  Lancey, 
sheriff  of  the  county  and  leader  of  the  Westchester  Light 
Horse.  Though  the  Berriens  were  good  Whigs,  their  house, 
as  well  as  that  of  Tippett,  was  a  resort  for  the  loyalists,  owing 
to  the  protection  offered  by  the  forts  above,  whose  officers 
could  not  have  found  duty  upon  the  neck  so  very  irksome  with 
several  pleasant  houses  in  the  neighborhood  to  visit. 

In  1852,  the  old  Berrien  tract  was  composed  of  three  farms. 
These  were  sold  to  three  gentlemen  of  Troy,  New  York,  who 
had  the  property  surveyed  and  laid  out  as  a  village.  It  was 
at  first  called  Fort  Independence,  under  the  impression  that 
that  fort  had  been  located  on  the  crest  of  the  hill;  but  later, 
the  name  was  changed  to  Spuyten  Duyvil,  after  the  creek. 
A  foundry  was  established  at  the  base  of  the  bluff,  which  has 
expanded  as  the  years  have  gone  by  into  an  extensive  plant 
which  has  for  a  number  of  years  supplied  a  large  number  of 
modern  and  improved  projectiles  for  the  guns  of  the  United 
States  Navy.  There  has  thus  grown  up  near  the  foundry  a 
small  village  to  accommodate  the  hands  who  work  in  the 
Johnson  mill,  and  it  is  here  that  the  stores  and  post-office  are 
located.  From  the  point  upon  which  the  mill  stands,  to  the 
opposite  shore  of  the  creek  on  Manhattan,  there  stood,  in 
Revolutionary  days,  a  pontoon  bridge  connecting  the  posts 
and  fortifications  of  the  two  sides  of  the  creek.    It  was  also 


Kingsbridge 


33i 


upon  the  Cock  Hill  on  Manhattan  that  there  was  to  be  found 
the  spouting  spring  which  is  supposed  to  have  given  its  name 
to  the  locality. 

Upon  the  higher  part  of  the  neck,  the  section  is  entirely 
residential,  and  there  are  many  beautiful  houses  and  pieces 
of  property.  The  ridge  ends  in  a  bold,  rocky  bluff,  from  which 
is  obtained  a  beautiful  and  picturesque  view.  At  our  feet 
is  the  winding  creek  entering  the  broad  and  majestic  Hudson, 
which  here,  by  contrast,  appears  as  a  lake;  across  the  river 
towers  the  perpendicular  frontage  of  the  Palisades;  while 
across  the  creek  is  the  gently  rising  and  heavily  wooded  dome 
of  Cox's  Hill  on  Manhattan,  still  so  unimproved  by  man  as  to 
convince  us  of  the  surpassing  beauty  of  this  locality  when 
Hudson  and  his  crew  first  viewed  its  shores.  Even  as  a  boy, 
when  I  passed  the  entrance  of  the  creek  on  Hudson  River 
steamers,  I  used  to  look  into  this  entrance  and  think  it  looked 
like  the  entrance  to  Paradise.  To  the  southward  and  east- 
ward, Marble  Hill  rises  with  its  residences,  and  at  its  foot  is 
the  western  entrance  to  the  Ship  Canal;  while  still  farther 
away  our  view  extends  to  the  heights  of  Fordham  with  the 
great  buildings  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Orphan  Asylum  and  of 
the  New  York  University  outlined  against  the  sky;  still  farther 
away  are  those  engineering  triumphs,  High  Bridge  and  Wash- 
ington Bridge.  When  moonlight  spreads  its  glamor  over  the 
scene,  even  the  ugly  railroad  bridge  at  the  mouth  of  the 
creek  appears  beautiful. 

On  the  morning  of  October  22,  1609,  the  Half- Moon  left 
her  anchorage  at  Teller's  Point  near  the  mouth  of  the  Croton 
River  and  made  twenty-one  miles  to  the  southward  during 
the  day;  but,  encountering  head  winds  and  tides,  she  was 
obliged  to  anchor  in  the  afternoon  off  the  mouth  of  Spuyten 
Duyvil  Creek. 


332 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


"The  two  captive  Indians  who  had  escaped  at  West  Point 
had,  it  appears/'  says  Irving,  "made  their  way  to  the  east 
side  of  the  river,  rousing  on  their  return  the  spirits  of  Sleepy 
Hollow,  or  the  more  ferocious  Manhatta,  and  here,  in  the  in- 
let of  Haarlem  River,  they  had  concentrated  a  force  that 
impatiently  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  rich  booty,  which  they 
nattered  themselves  they  should  obtain.  They  had  not 
waited  long  before  the  Hal} -Moon  appeared,  and  immedi- 
ately hove  to,  near  their  place  of  ambush.  One  of  the  In- 
dians who  had  escaped  from  Hudson's  vessel  now  came  out 
with  many  others  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  expecting  to 
betray  them." 

As  to  the  issue  of  the  attack,  we  have  the  account  of  Juet, 
the  mate  of  the  Half -Moon.    He  says: 

"We  perceived  their  intent,  and  suffered  none  of  them  to 
enter  our  ship,  whereupon  two  canoes  full  of  men  with  bows 
and  arrows  shot  at  us  after  our  stern,  in  recompense  whereof 
we  discharged  six  muskets  and  killed  two  or  three  of  them; 
then  above  one  hundred  of  them  came  to  a  point  of  land  to 
shoot  at  us,  then  I  shot  a  falcon  at  them  and  killed  two  of 
them;  whereupon  the  rest  fled  into  the  woods.  Yet  they 
manned  off  another  canoe  with  nine  or  ten  men,  which  came  to 
meet  us ;  so  I  shot  at  it  a  falcon,  and  shot  it  through  and  killed 
one  of  them,  then  our  men  with  muskets  killed  three  or  four 
more  of  them,  so  they  went  their  way." 

Yes,  and  so  the  Half -Moon  went  her  way,  too;  but  left 
behind  her  a  legacy  of  hate,  suspicion,  and  revenge  which 
boded  ill  for  those  who  came  later.  It  is  strange  that  these 
civilized  Europeans — whether  English,  Dutch,  French,  or 
Spanish — who  first  came  to  our  shores  should  have  so  univer- 
sally aroused  the  baser  passions  of  these  simple  children  of 
nature,  when  it  would  have  been  just  as  easy  to  have  aroused 


Henry  Hudson  Monument,  Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck. 

Mr.  Muschenheim's  residence  is  on  the  left,  and  under  the  first  second-story  window 
on  the  porch  side  is  the  bronze  tablet  marking  the  site  of  Fort  Number  One. 
Courtesy  of  William  C.  Muschenheim,  Esq. 


Statue  of  Henry  Hudson  by  Karl  Bitter. 


Kingsbridge 


333 


their  friendship,  as  Penn  did,  by  fair  and  honest  dealings  and 
by  considerate  treatment. 

In  1909  occurred  the  three  hundredth  anniversary  of 
Hudson's  explorations,  and  the  city  celebrated  with  numerous 
civic  and  military  displays.  It  occurred  to  Mr.  Muschenheim 
that  a  statue  to  Hudson  on  the  point  opposite  the  scene  of 
the  anchorage  of  the  Half -Moon  would  be  an  appropriate 
memorial,  and  he  succeeded  in  interesting  four  other  gentle- 
men to  go  in  with  him  as  a  committee,  and  lists  for  subscrip- 
tions were  opened  with  such  success  that  nearly  $100,000 
were  pledged.  The  monument  is  in  the  form  of  a  hollow  shaft 
one  hundred  feet  in  height,  to  be  surmounted  by  a  sixteen- 
foot  statue  of  the  explorer.  Mr.  Walter  Cook  is  the  designer 
of  the  monument,  which  has  already  been  erected,  and  Karl 
Bitter  is  the  sculptor  of  the  statue.  The  point  of  the  neck 
upon  which  the  monument  stands  is  two  hundred  feet  above 
the  river,  so  that  the  gallery  at  the  top  of  the  shaft  will 
be  three  hundred  feet  high.  A  superb  view  will  be  obtained 
from  this  point,  access  to  which  will  be  obtained  by  a  wind- 
ing flight  of  stairs  within  the  shaft.  Four  tablets  will  be 
placed  upon  the  pedestal,  though  these  have  not  yet  been 
designed. 

In  connection  with  the  ter-centenary  of  Hudson's  discovery, 
it  was  planned  to  have  a  memorial  bridge  span  the  waters  of 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  connecting  Cock  Hill  with  Spuyten 
Duyvil  Neck,  at  a  sufficient  height  to  be  clear  of  interference 
with  navigation,  and  to  connect  the  Boulevard  Lafayette — 
to  be  extended  for  the  purpose — with  the  Spuyten  Duyvil 
Parkway.  Though  plans  were  made  in  sufficient  time  to 
allow  of  the  construction  of  the  bridge  by  1909,  they  did  not 
meet  with  the  approval  of  the  Municipal  Art  Commission  and 
other  bodies,  and  the  bridge  is  still  unbuilt.    When  it  is 


334  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


constructed,  the  Hudson  monument  will  stand  in  its  axis  at 
the  northern  end. 

Continuing  our  way  east  from  the  Spuyten  Duyvil  station 
of  the  railroad,  we  formerly  crossed  the  New  York  Central 
tracks  three  times,  once  on  a  bridge  over  a  deep  cut  in  the 
solid  rock,  and  twice  within  a  few  yards  at  grade,  these  last 
having  been  very  dangerous  crossings.  It  is  near  these 
crossings  that  there  occurred  on  January  13,  1 881,  a  dreadful 
railroad  accident  in  which  thirteen  persons  were  killed ;  among 
them  being  Senator  Wagner,  the  inventor  of  the  sleeping- 
coach  and  parlor-car  which  bear  his  name.  There  were  thir- 
teen coaches  on  the  wrecked  train,  and  this  combination  of 
"thirteen"  confirmed  the  credulous  in  their  belief  in  the  old 
superstition.  It  was  to  get  rid  of  this  dangerous  passage 
through  Kingsbridge  that  the  railroad  changed  its  route  to 
the  Ship  Canal  in  February,  1906.  The  Hudson,  off  the 
mouth  of  the  creek,  was  the  scene  of  an  earlier  accident  on 
July  28,  1852,  when  the  river  boat  Henry  Clay  was  burned, 
and  seventy  persons,  mostly  women  and  children,  lost  their 
lives  either  by  fire  or  drowning. 

We  may  continue  up  Riverdale  Avenue,  a  fine  road  leading 
to  the  top  of  the  hill  to  the  ground  we  have  just  passed  over, 
or  we  may  take  the  ancient  road,  called  Dash's  Lane,  along 
the  base  of  the  hill  on  a  level  with  Tippett's  Brook,  till  it 
joins  the  ancient  post-road  at  Mosholu,  west  of  Van  Cortlandt 
Park.  A  third  choice  is  open  to  us,  that  of  keeping  east  over 
Tippett's  Brook  and  so  through  the  village  of  Kingsbridge. 
From  the  mouth  of  the  brook  eastward  to  the  ancient  bridge, 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek  has  been  filled  in. 

Kingsbridge  is  a  straggling  village,  and  the  road  was  formerly 
lined  with  boat-houses,  feed  stores,  etc.  On  October  26,  1903, 
a  disastrous  fire  destroyed  many  of  these  buildings.    The  fire 


Kingsbridge 


335 


was  started,  presumably,  by  the  rockets  set  off  during  a  po- 
litical torch-light  procession  previous  to  the  election  of  that 
year.  Church  Street  passes  north  over  the  rocky  core  of  the 
former  island  of  Paparinemo  and  joins  Broadway  nearly  a 
mile  above.  We  take  a  look  at  the  ancient  bridge  which 
gives  its  name  to  this  locality,  now  much  neglected,  and  due, 
in  a  short  time,  to  disappear  altogether;  after  passing  it, 
we  are  on  the  Boston  Road  of  1673,  though  this  has  been 
recently  graded  from  its  former  level. 

We  pass  a  large  stone  mansion  which  attracts  our  attention. 
This  was  the  home  for  many  years  of  the  late  Mr.  Joseph 
Godwin.  Previous  to  his  occupancy  of  it,  it  had  been  the 
home  of  Mrs.  Mary  C.  P.  Macomb,  the  wife  of  Robert  Macomb, 
whose  ventures  were  no  more  successful  than  those  of  his 
father.  Mrs.  Macomb  acquired  the  Paparinemo  tract  about 
1830.  It  is  believed  that  there  is  incorporated  within  the 
present  mansion  the  ancient  stone  tavern  which  was  main- 
tained by  both  Verveelen  and  the  Philipses  in  accordance  with 
their  grants.  If  so,  it  is  one  of  the  oldest  relics  we  have,  as 
it  would  date  from  1669.  Mrs.  Macomb  enlarged  and  modern- 
ized the  old  tavern,  which  became  noted  for  its  hospitality  as 
her  private  home.  Edgar  Allan  Poe,  that  unfortunate  genius, 
was  a  frequent  visitor,  as  his  home  in  Fordham  was  little  more 
than  a  mile  away. 

In  1847,  Mrs.  Macomb  had  her  property  surveyed  and  cut 
up  into  building  lots;  and  the  village  of  Kingsbridge  had  its 
beginning.  Under  the  present  Broadway  Bridge,  is  the 
"  wading-place  "  of  the  olden  time.  The  bar  in  the  middle  of 
the  stream  was  visible  at  low  tide,  and  it  was  built  up  by  Mr. 
Godwin,  who  erected  a  summer  house  upon  it;  it  was  known 
for  many  years,  in  consequence,  as  "Godwin's  Island." 

Passing  up  Broadway,  we  soon  come  to  the  flat  meadow  land 


336 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


through  which  Tippett's  Brook  finds  its  tortuous  way.  Over- 
head the  elevated  portion  of  the  subway  thunders  on  to  its 
terminus  at  West  2^26.  Street  abreast  of  Van  Cortlandt 
Park.  On  the  right  of  the  station  are  the  Van  Cortlandt 
mansion  and  the  lake.  Just  south  of  the  mansion,  a  road 
connects  the  opposite  sides  of  the  valley ;  this  is  the  old  Albany 
Post-road.  On  our  right,  as  we  go  farther  up  Broadway,  is 
Van  Cortlandt  Park ;  and  on  our  left,  are  the  hamlet  of  Mosholu 
and  the  heights  of  Riverdale,  a  rough,  broken  country,  full 
of  short,  knobby  hills,  separated  by  deep  ravines  and  gullies. 
A  part  of  the  old  Albany  Road  lies  to  the  west  of  Broadway, 
a  continuation  of  Dash's  Lane.  This  present  line  of  Broad- 
way was  filled  in  about  1808  by  the  Highland  Turnpike 
Company,  which  hung  gates  and  charged  toll,  having  control 
of  the  road  all  the  way  to  Albany.  Upon  the  rocky  heights 
to  the  west,  the  remnant  of  the  band  of  Stockbridge  Indians 
found  hiding-places  from  their  pursuers. 

Instead  of  going  up  Broadway,  we  may  cross  to  the  eastern 
side  of  the  valley  by  the  ancient  causeway  (Macomb  Street) 
over  whose  construction  Verveelen  and  Archer  had  a  row; 
or  we  may  cross  to  the  station  of  the  Putnam  Railroad  over 
Depot  Street,  and  follow  the  Albany  Road  to  the  park,  or 
the  Boston  Road  to  the  top  of  the  hill  to  Sedgwick  Avenue 
and  the  new  Jerome  Park  reservoir. 

The  reservoir  lies  in  the  former  townships  of  Kingsbridge 
and  West  Farms  (Fordham),  and  occupies  the  site  of  the 
Jerome  Park  race-track.  Work  upon  the  reservoir  was  begun 
in  August,  1895,  and  the  contract  called  for  its  completion  in 
August,  1902.  The  reservoir  was  to  consist  of  two  basins 
capable  of  holding  two  billions  of  gallons  and  covering  with 
water  212  acres  out  of  the  309  bought  by  the  city,  thus  making 
it  the  largest  distributing  reservoir  in  the  world.   The  western 


A  View  of  the  King's  Bridge — Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck  in  the  Background. 


Kingsbridge 


337 


basin,  holding  773,000,000  gallons,  was  finished  in  October, 
x905;  but  at  this  writing  the  eastern  and  larger  basin  is  still 
unfinished,  and  it  does  not  look  as  if  it  ever  would  be  finished. 
The  contractor,  however,  so  it  is  stated,  has  received  the 
price  for  both  basins ;  and  the  city  is  in  possession  of  an  enor- 
mous hole  in  the  ground  which  it  will  either  have  to  complete 
on  a  new  contract  or  leave  as  it  is.  The  Catskill  addition  to 
the  water  supply  of  the  city,  now  in  course  of  construction, 
has  done  away  with  the  necessity  of  this  great  reservoir  unless 
the  city  should  determine  to  install  a  filtration  plant  at  an 
estimated  expense  of  $1 1 ,000,000  in  addition  to  the  $10,000,000, 
or  more,  that  have  been  paid  for  the  land  and  the  work  so  far 
accomplished.  The  pumping  station  has  a  stand  pipe  three 
hundred  feet  high,  so  that  sufficient  head  is  assured  for  the 
tallest  buildings  in  the  city.  The  millions  of  cubic  yards  of 
materials  removed  by  excavation  have  been  used  in  filling  in 
the  valley  of  Cromwell's  Creek  and  the  meadows  at  Westches- 
ter, the  refuse  having  been  carried  by  rail  across  Bronx  Park 
to  the  neighborhood  of  Westchester  Creek  and  the  Bronx 
and  Pelham  Bay  Parkway.  The  Legislature  of  the  State  at  its 
191 1  session  authorized  the  use  of  the  eastern  uncompleted 
portion  for  armory  purposes  for  the  State  National  Guard; 
and  in  December,  191 1,  it  was  proposed  to  use  a  part  of  it  in 
the  southeast  corner  for  the  construction  of  store-houses, 
shops,  etc.,  for  the  Eighth  Artillery  District  of  the  United  States 
Army.  On  January  23,  19 12,  plans  were  filed  for  the  erection 
upon  this  site  of  a  million-dollar  armory  for  the  Eighth  Regi- 
ment of  the  State  Militia. 

The  reservoir  is  almost  within  a  stone's  throw  of  Fort 
Independence  and  Fort  Number  Five;  so  that  when  the  exca- 
vations began,  the  workmen  turned  up  with  their  tools  several 

cannon-balls,  bayonets,  swords,  buttons,  and  other  military 
22 


338  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


relics,  one  man  throwing  out  a  shovelful  of  earth  which  gave 
up  an  English  sovereign.  All  through  this  section,  from  time 
to  time,  similar  relics  have  been  unearthed,  including  several 
skeletons,  one  of  which,  by  means  of  the  regimental  buttons 
and  shreds  of  uniform  that  remained,  was  identified  as  that 
of  a  British  officer. 

In  1772,  Captain  Richard  Montgomery  purchased  a  farm 
of  seventy-five  acres  lying  north  of  the  Boston  Road.  He 
had  been  an  officer  in  the  British  army,  but,  despairing  of 
advancement,  resigned  his  commission  and  came  to  America, 
"where  my  pride  and  my  poverty  would  be  much  more  at 
their  ease, "  as  he  himself  declared,  and  where  he  could  follow 
the  pursuit  of  farming.  In  1773,  he  married  Janet  Livingston, 
the  daughter  of  the  great  and  wealthy  lord  of  Livingston  Manor 
and  sister  of  the  later  celebrated  Chancellor  Livingston.  The 
young  Irishman  threw  in  his  lot  with  the  patriots;  and  as  a 
member  of  the  Provincial  Congress  was  selected  with  others 
to  examine  the  Kingsbridge  neighborhood  with  a  view  to 
its  defensibility.  Fort  Independence  was  afterwards  located 
on  his  farm  by  Colonel  Rufus  Putnam,  the  American  engineer 
officer  who  first  planned  the  defences  of  Fort  Washington  and 
its  vicinity.  Montgomery  was  appointed  a  brigadier-general 
by  the  Continental  Congress,  and  a  major-general  after  his 
capture  of  Montreal.  Had  all  the  appointments  of  former 
British  officers  been  as  wise  as  that  of  Montgomery,  we  should 
not  have  had  the  record  of  the  combined  arrogance  and  in- 
efficiency of  Lee,  Gates,  Conway,  and  others  of  like  stamp. 

Montgomery  had  been  with  Wolfe  in  his  memorable  attack 
on  Quebec,  and  it  was  probably  on  account  of  his  knowledge 
of  its  approaches  and  defences  that  he  was  selected  under 
Schuyler  to  command  the  American  expedition  against  it. 
When  he  kissed  his  young  wife  good-bye  at  the  home  of  General 


Kingsbridge 


339 


Schuyler  near  Saratoga,  on  his  way  to  Ticonderoga,  he  said 
to  her:  "You  shall  never  blush  for  your  Montgomery." 
He  led  the  forlorn  hope  of  his  command  at  the  assault  on  the 
citadel,  and  the  large  sign  upon  the  precipice  of  Cape  Diamond, 
below  the  fortress,  "Here  Montgomery  fell,  December  31, 
1775,"  shows  that  he  kept  his  pledge.  The  news  of  his 
gallantry  and  death  called  forth  the  praises  of  Burke,  Fox, 
Barre,  and  others  of  the  British  Parliament,  until  Lord  North 
was  moved  to  exclaim :  "Curse  on  his  virtues ;  he  has  undone 
his  country!" 

After  the  war,  in  181 8,  his  remains  were  brought  to  New 
York  City  by  order  of  the  American  Congress  and  placed  in 
the  front  of  St.  Paul's  Church  at  Broadway  and  Vesey  Street; 
and  a  white  marble  tablet  was  erected  to  commemorate  his 
services.  Many  thousands  of  people  pass  the  church  daily 
without  knowing,  or  caring,  that  here  is  buried  one  of  the 
earliest,  bravest,  and  noblest  of  the  heroes  of  the  Revolution. 

Inscriptions  on  the  Montgomery  tablet  at  St.  Paul's  Church : 

"  This  Monument  is  erected  by  the  order  of  Congress 
25th  Jan^,  1776,  to  tranfmit  to  Pofterity  a  grateful  remem- 
brance of  the  patriotism  conduct  enterprize  &  performance 

of  Major  General  RICHARD  MONTGOMERY 
who  after  a  feries  of  succefses  amidft  the  most  difcouraging 
Difficulties  Fell  in  the  attack  on 

QUEBEC.    31".  Decbr.,  1775.    Aged  37  Years." 

"The  State  of  New  York 
Caused  the  Remains  of 
Maj.  Gen1.  RICHARD  MONTGOMERY 
to  be  conveyed  from  Quebec 
and  deposited  beneath  this  Monument 
the  8th  day  of  July 
1818." 


34° 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Among  the  papers  found  by  Arnold  in  Montgomery's 
quarters  at  Quebec  after  his  death,  was  his  will,  by  which  he 
left  the  Kingsbridge  farm  to  his  sister  Sarah,  Viscountess 
Ranelagh.  The  Montgomery  house  on  Fort  Independence 
Street  is  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  vicinity,  but  there 
is  doubt  as  to  its  genuineness.  Edsall,  the  historian  of 
Kingsbridge,  states  that  the  original  house  was  burned  and 
completely  destroyed  by  the  British  during  the  Revolution, 
while  the  late  Mr.  William  Ogden  Giles,  who  bought  the  prop- 
erty many  years  ago  and  erected  his  own  house  within  the 
ramparts  of  Fort  Independence,  declared  that  it  was  the 
original  Montgomery  house,  and  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  its  beams  are  of  hewn  oak,  in  most  cases,  a  sure  sign  of 
antiquity. 

Fort  Independence  stands  on  the  crest  of  the  hill  directly 
above  the  Montgomery  house.  The  square  tower  of  the 
house  built  upon  its  site  is  a  prominent  object,  and  is  visible 
for  miles  in  all  directions,  which  shows  the  commanding 
position  of  the  ancient  redoubt. 

Both  the  old  and  the  new  Croton  aqueducts  pass  through 
the  former  township ;  and  the  Catskill  aqueduct,  now  building, 
will  do  likewise.  In  1869,  a  portion  of  the  Van  Cortlandt 
estate,  lying  between  Fort  Independence  hill  and  Van  Cort- 
landt lake,  was  bought  and  laid  out  by  the  purchaser  in  build- 
ing lets.  The  tract  was  called  "Oloff  Park,"  after  Oloff 
Stevensen  Van  Cortlandt,  the  first  of  the  name  in  the  New 
World,  and  the  ancestor  of  the  Van  Cortlandt  families.  Oloff 
Park,  which  contained  about  one  hundred  acres,  has  nearly 
all  disappeared  within  the  park  or  the  reservoir. 

Nearly  all  the  rest  of  the  former  township  is  taken  up  by 
the  public  park  and  by  Woodlawn  Cemetery,  both  of  which  are 
described  elsewhere  in  this  volume.    In  the  northeast  corner 


The  Former  Residence  of  the  Late  William  Ogden  Giles.    The  Terraces  Are 
the  Ramparts  of  Fort  Independence,  Kingsbridge. 


Kingsbridge  341 

of  the  township  is  the  former  village  of  Woodlawn  Heights ; 
and  in  the  southeast  corner  there  is  a  small  strip  lying  along 
the  Gun  Hill  Road,  between  the  cemetery  and  the  Fordham 
Manor  line,  upon  which  are  situated  the  athletic  field  and 
track  belonging  to  Columbia  University.  Just  east  of  it, 
but  within  the  cemetery,  is  the  old  redoubt  thrown  up  by  the 
orders  of  General  Heath  in  1776. 

In  1884,  there  was  established  at  Broadway  and  138th 
Street,  Manhattan,  a  memorial  to  the  great  Jewish  philan- 
thropist, Sir  Moses  Montefiore,  which  took  the  form  of  a  home 
for  aged  and  chronic  invalids.  The  building  up  of  that  locality 
and  the  limitation  upon  the  spreading  out  of  the  institution's 
buildings,  caused  the  trustees  to  take  steps  for  the  acquisition 
of  a  new  site.  That  site  was  acquired  in  the  fall  of  19 10  on 
the  Gun  Hill  Road,  between  Jerome  Avenue  and  East  210th 
Street,  taking  up  four  city  blocks;  and  the  city  has  authorized 
the  closing  of  two  streets  so  that  the  new  buildings  may 
be  compact,  and  the  grounds  complete  within  themselves. 
Work  was  begun  in  the  fall  of  191 1,  and  when  completed  the 
buildings  will  be  strictly  modern  in  all  respects  and  will  have 
accommodations  for  six  hundred  inmates.  It  is  expected 
that  they  will  be  ready  for  occupancy  in  the  spring  or  summer 
of  1913. 


CHAPTER  XV 


FORDHAM  MANOR 

THE  manor  of  Fordham  never  constituted  a  township 
by  itself,  having  first  been  incorporated  in  the  town- 
ship of  Westchester  by  the  Act  of  1788,  and  later, 
within  the  township  of  West  Farms  when  it  was  formed  in  1846. 
Still,  for  purposes  of  exploration,  we  may  consider  it  as  a  sep- 
arate entity ;  though,  as  it  lies  so  close  to  Kingsbridge,  it  is  some- 
times difficult  to  differentiate  in  describing  the  two.  On  the 
Harlem  River,  Fordham  extends  as  far  south  as  Highbridge, 
and  on  the  Bronx,  it  lies  between  West  Farms  and  Williams- 
bridge.  Within  this  area,  there  grew  up  a  number  of  villages, 
Fordham,  South  Fordham,  Tremont,  East  Tremont,  Belmont, 
South  Belmont,  Mount  Hope,  Mount  Eden,  Monterey,  Ford- 
ham Heights,  Jerome  Park,  and  Williamsbridge.  The  Harlem 
Railroad  traverses  it  to  its  northeast  corner,  and  the  Central 
Railroad  passes  along  its  western  boundary,  the  Harlem  River. 
Several  trolley  lines  radiate  from  its  different  bridges.  From 
Kingsbridge,  we  may  gain  the  top  of  the  Fordham  ridge  by 
means  of  the  Boston  Road,  which  passed  through  the  manor 
for  the  greater  part  of  its  length  to  Williamsbridge,  or  we  may 
take  Bailey  Avenue,  running  parallel  to  the  railroad  tracks, 
and  ascend  to  Sedgwick  Avenue  by  means  of  the  Highbridge 
Road,  or  by  means  of  Bailey  Avenue  itself  to  Fordham  Cross- 
road. 

342 


Fordham  Manor 


343 


Immediately  south  of  Fort  Independence  is  Tetard's  Hill, 
which  gets  its  name  from  Dominie  Tetard,  who  bought  a  farm 
of  sixty  acres  lying  south  of  the  Boston  Road  from  Peter 
Vermilye,  in  1763,  and  who  came  to  live  here  about  three 
years  later.  In  1772,  he  opened  a  French  boarding-school, 
probably  the  first  in  New  York.  As  related  elsewhere,  he 
served  during  the  Revolution ;  after  its  conclusion,  he  became 
professor  of  French  in  the  reorganized  King's  College,  which 
became  Columbia  in  1784.  He  held  this  position  until  his 
death,  in  1 787,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five.  All  traces  of  the  Domi- 
nie have  disappeared,  except  the  name  of  the  hill;  though, 
until  the  cutting  through  of  some  new  streets  within  a  few 
years,  there  stood  an  old  stone  archway,  whose  real  purpose 
was  unknown  but  which  was  called  "Dominie  Tetard's  Wine 
Cellar."  Under  the  edge  of  the  hill,  probably  on  the  line  of 
Bailey  Avenue,  is  the  site  of  the  ancient  village  of  Fordham. 
Just  half  a  mile  south  of  Fort  Independence  are  the  remains 
of  Fort  Number  Five,  a  few  rods  east  of  Sedgwick  Avenue  at 
the  southwest  corner  of  the  reservoir;  it  can  be  easily  found  by 
the  relic  hunter.  Its  position  was  well  selected,  as  it  is  within 
plain  view  of  Number  Four,  besides  commanding  the  Farmers' 
Bridge. 

Continuing  our  way  along  the  ridge,  we  cross  theKingsbridge 
Road,  leading  to  Westchester  by  way  of  Bronxdale  and  the 
Bear  Swamp.  A  short  distance  east  of  Sedgwick  Avenue, 
and  between  it  and  Jerome  Avenue,  is  the  old  Dutch  Church 
of  Fordham.  The  southern  end  of  the  reservoir  lies  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Kingsbridge  Road,  so  that  the  reservoir  is 
within  both  the  ancient  manor  and  the  town  of  Kingsbridge. 

Adjoining  the  Kingsbridge  Road  on  the  south,  with  Sedg- 
wick Avenue  as  their  western  boundary,  are  the  grounds  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Orphan  Asylum.    A  society  for  the  care 


344 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


of  Catholic  orphans  was  formed  as  early  as  1817 ;  but  it  was  not 
incorporated  until  1852.  From  1848  to  1902,  the  buildings  of 
the  Asylum  stood  on  the  block  bounded  by  Fifth  and  Madison 
avenues  and  Fiftieth  and  Fifty-first  streets,  just  north  of  St. 
Patrick's  Cathedral.  In  1899,  the  Bailey  estate  on  Fordharr 
Heights,  containing  twenty-eight  and  a  half  acres  was  bought 
for  $290,000,  and  the  erection  of  buildings  begun.  There  are 
two  buildings  besides  the  old  Bailey  mansion.  Each  building 
is  385  feet  long,  50  feet  deep,  with  two  wings  50  feet  by  125, 
and  a  chapel,  and  is  five  stories  high  with  basement.  The 
Asylum  is  in  charge  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  the  buildings 
will  accommodate  sixteen  hundred  in  all.  They  were  occupied 
in  April,  1902,  but  neither  they  nor  the  grounds  were  fully  in 
shape  until  a  year  later.  Their  position  is  a  very  commanding 
one,  and  on  a  clear  day,  they  can  be  seen  from  the  Sound; 
while  from  the  northward  and  westward  they  dominate  the 
view.  Upon  the  grounds  of  the  Bailey  estate,  about  380  feet 
northeast  of  the  house,  were  the  remains  of  Fort  Number  Six, 
which  was  also  called  by  the  British,  the  "King's  Battery." 
In  excavating  for  the  foundations  of  the  Asylum  buildings, 
it  was  necessary  to  destroy  the  old  redoubt;  and  in  doing  so 
several  relics  of  the  British  occupation  were  brought  to  light, 
including  several  coins,  among  which  were  some  bearing  the 
imprint  of  George  II.,  the  oldest  yet  found  within  the  Borough. 

Adjoining  the  Asylum  on  the  south,  at  the  corner  of  Sedg- 
wick Avenue  and  Fordham  Road,  is  Webb's  Academy  and 
Home  for  Ship-builders.  It  occupies  a  commanding  position, 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  Harlem  River,  and  with 
its  two  high  towers,  attracts  the  attention  of  the  observer 
miles  away.    It  is  situated  in  a  park  of  thirteen  acres. 

The  founder  of  the  Academy  and  Home  was  the  late  Wil- 
liam Henry  Webb,  the  famous  naval  architect  and  ship-builder. 


Webb's  Shipbuilding  Academy  and  Home,  Fordham  Heights. 


The  Burial  Ground  of  the  Old  Dutch  Church,  formerly  at  Sedgwick  Avenue 
and  Fordham  Road. 


« 


Fordham  Manor 


345 


Among  his  achievements  was  the  Dunderberg,  built  in  1864 
for  the  United  States  Government,  but  afterwards  sold  to 
France  and  renamed  the  Rochambeau,  in  honor  of  the  great 
French  general,  whose  assistance  was  so  invaluable  to  Washing- 
ton, with  whom  he  passed  along  these  heights  inspecting  the 
British  positions  in  the  summer  of  1781.  The  Dunderberg 
embodied  many  of  the  most  recent  ideas  of  naval  architecture 
for  vessels  of  war,  and  was  for  many  years  the  finest  ship  in 
the  French  navy. 

The  Academy  was  incorporated  April  2,  1889,  and  the  erec- 
tion of  the  building  was  begun  two  years  later.  Upon  its 
completion,  fully  furnished,  May  5,  1894,  it  was  formally 
presented  to  the  trustees  by  its  generous  founder,  together 
with  an  endowment  for  its  maintenance  in  perpetuity.  The 
first  guest  was  admitted  to  the  Home  in  October,  1893,  and 
the  first  student  to  the  Academy  in  January,  1894. 

The  objects  of  the  institution,  as  announced  by  its  founder, 
are: 

"that  it  shall  afford  free  relief  and  support  to  the  aged, 
indigent,  or  unfortunate  men  who  have  been  engaged  in  build- 
ing hulls  of  vessels,  or  marine  engines  for  such,  in  any  section 
of  the  United  States,  together  with  the  wives  or  widows  of 
such  persons ;  and  also  to  furnish  to  any  young  man,  a  native 
or  citizen  of  the  United  States,  who  may  upon  examination 
prove  himself  competent,  of  good  character,  and  worthy,  a 
gratuitous  education  in  the  art,  science,  and  profession  of  ship- 
building and  marine  engine  building,  both  theoretical  and 
practical,  together  with  board,  lodging,  and  necessary  imple- 
ments and  materials  while  obtaining  such  education." 

The  Academy  and  the  Home  have  both  been  in  constant 
use  since  their  establishment,  and  classes  of  naval  architects 
have  been  graduated  yearly  from  the  institution.  During 


346  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


the  summer  months,  the  students  find  employment  in  ship- 
yards, whose  owners  are  always  glad  to  get  them.  Visitors  to 
the  institution  are  admitted  daily  between  2  and  5  p.m.  ;  and 
the  visitor  will  find  many  things  to  interest  and  instruct  him. 

Fordham  Cross-road  comes  down  to  the  Harlem  River 
through  a  break,  or  valley,  in  the  ridge  south  of  the  Academy 
grounds;  at  the  river  is  Fordham,  or  Berrien's,  Landing,  an  old 
stopping  place  for  boats  plying  on  the  river.  On  the  southeast 
corner  of  Fordham  Road  and  Sedgwick  Avenue  formerly 
stood  the  old  Dutch  burying-ground ;  the  original  church 
edifice  stood  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  probably  within 
the  grounds  of  Webb's  Academy.  Emmerick's  camp  lay  on 
Bailey  Avenue  just  below,  and  the  church  was  used  by  the 
chasseurs  and  suffered  from  the  ravages  of  war.  The  British 
camp  is  remembered  in  the  name,  Emmerick  Place,  which  is 
a  short  street  of  one  block,  connecting  Highbridge  Road  and 
Bailey  Avenue.  The  ridge  south  of  Fordham  Road  has  of 
late  years  been  called  University  Heights,  owing  to  the  pres- 
ence of  the  New  York  University.  Fort  Number  Seven 
stood  upon  what  was  formerly  known  as  the  Oswald  Cammann 
place,  but  all  traces  of  it  have  disappeared. 

The  New  York  University  moved  the  greater  part  of  its 
schools  to  this  site  in  1894,  from  the  old  quarters  in  University 
Place,  Manhattan.  The  tract  was  originally  twenty  acres, 
costing  $300,000,  but  other  property  has  been  added  to  it. 
There  are  a  fine  athletic  field  and  track,  called  Ohio  Field,  upon 
the  university  grounds.  The  site  is  a  particularly  fine  one  on 
account  of  the  elevation,  which  ensures  good  drainage  and 
pure  air,  while  the  views  are  magnificent  in  all  directions. 
The  university  is  accessible  by  both  the  Central  and  Putnam 
railroads,  and  also  by  trolley.  Some  fine  buildings  ornament 
the  grounds,  the  Hall  of  Languages  and  the  Library  being 


The  Library  and  Hall  of  Fame,  New  York  University. 


Boulder  Marking  the  Site  of  Fort  Number  Eight  on  the  Property  of  the 
New  York  University,  Fordham  Heights. 


The  Archer  House,  or  De  Lancey  Headquarters,  which  formerly 
Junction  of  Sedgwick  and  Burnside  Avenues. 


Stood  near  the 


Fordham  University. 


Fordham  Manor 


347 


most  conspicuous.  Attached  to  the  Library  building  is  an 
arcade,  or  cloistered  way,  of  white  marble,  overlooking  Sedg- 
wick Avenue,  to  which  the  title,  "Hall  of  Fame,"  has  been 
given.  Here  are  inscribed  on  bronze  tablets  the  names  and 
records  of  those  Americans  who  have  been  chiefly  instrumental 
in  making  our  country  famous  by  their  services  as  states- 
men, jurists,  philanthropists,  soldiers,  scientists,  teachers,  or 
authors.  That  sectional  lines  have  been  altogether  ignored, 
as  they  should  be,  is  shown  in  the  tablet  to  that  great  soldier, 
Robert  E.  Lee.  The  names  to  be  inscribed  were  selected  by 
a  committee  of  eminent  men,  after  there  had  been  considerable 
newspaper  discussion;  but  the  list  as  finally  made  up  caused 
a  good  deal  of  controversy,  so  many  pet  heroes  of  the  objectors 
having  been  ignored.  Other  names  are  added  periodically 
to  those  already  there, — names,  which,  to  the  author,  seem 
eminently  entitled  to  the  posthumous  honor  done  them. 

At  the  southern  end  of  the  University  grounds  another 
valley  breaks  through  to  the  river;  this  is  called  Burnside 
Avenue.  The  section  south  of  it  is  called  Morris  Heights. 
Several  fine  detached  residences  overlook  the  Harlem  as  well 
as  Burnside  Avenue,  though  in  former  days  there  were  many 
more.  One  of  these  was  the  Schwab  residence,  which  was  built 
in  1857,  on  the  site  of  Fort  Number  Eight,  but  which  was 
acquired  in  1907  by  the  University.  The  mound  covering 
the  old  fortification  is  marked  by  a  boulder  inscribed: 

THE  SITE 
OF 

FORT  NUMBER  EIGHT 
1776-1783 

When  the  late  Justus  H.  Schwab  built  his  residence  here  in 
1857,  the  old  fort  was  dug  up  and  many  relics  were  brought 


348 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


to  light  which  were  carefully  preserved.  These  consisted  of 
cannon-balls,  grape-shot,  English  coins,  uniform  buttons, 
bridle  ornaments,  pike  tips,  broken  camp  kettles,  and  other 
military  paraphernalia.  The  buttons  show  that  the  fort  was 
occupied  at  various  times  by  the  following  British  regiments,  or 
detachments  of  them:  8th,  17th,  33d  (Lord  Cornwallis),  37th 
(English  Musketeers),  38th,  45th,  74th,  and  76th  (Scotch). 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  manor  of  Fordham  was  left 
by  the  Steenwycks  to  the  Nether  Dutch  Church,  and  that 
the  church  was  authorized  by  the  Provincial  Assembly  of 
1755,  to  dispose  of  its  property  to  purchasers  in  fee.  The 
tract  upon  which  Number  Eight  stood  was  bought  by  Daniel 
Seacord  of  Yonkers,  who  sold  it,  October  14,  1766,  to  Benjamin 
Archer,  for  £630.  Archer  built  a  house,  part  stone  and  part 
wood,  at  a  point  about  three  hundred  feet  east  and  seventy- 
five  feet  north  of  the  junction  of  the  present  Sedgwick  and 
Burnside  avenues.  It  consisted  of  two  rooms;  and  during  the 
Revolution,  it  was  the  quarters  of  Colonel  De  Lancey  of  the 
Westchester  Light  Horse,  and  the  object  of  frequent  attacks 
by  the  Americans.  The  cantonment  of  De  Lancey 's  troopers 
was  probably  on  the  meadow  at,  or  near,  Burnside  Avenue  and 
Macomb's  Dam  Road,  formerly  occupied  by  the  Berkeley 
Oval  athletic  field. 

When  the  British  determined  on  the  capture  of  Fort  Wash- 
ington, the  height  above  Archer's  house  commended  itself 
to  the  engineers  as  a  position  which  commanded  the  Harlem 
River,  the  American  outwork  on  Laurel  Hill  (Fort  George), 
the  Kingsbridge  Road  from  Harlem,  and  the  northern  outworks 
of  Fort  Washington  at  Inwood,  afterwards  called  Fort 
Try  on.  Upon  the  arrival  of  the  Hessians  in  the  neighbor- 
hood in  the  first  days  of  November,  1776,  work  was  begun 
upon  the  redoubt;  and  by  the  fifteenth  of  the  month,  it  was 


Fordham  Manor 


349 


ready  for  use.  The  heavy  guns  which  were  mounted  upon  it 
were  brought  up  from  New  York.  On  November  sixteenth, 
the  attack  upon  Fort  Washington  was  begun  by  Number 
Eight,  which  protected  the  landing  of  the  British  troops  upon 
the  Dyckman  meadows  and  made  the  post  at  Laurel  Hill 
untenable  by  the  Americans.  The  fort  had  been  hastily 
constructed,  but  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Washington  it  was 
strengthened  and  maintained  as  an  alarm  post  throughout 
the  war.  Heath  says  in  his  Memoirs:  "The  Enemy  had  a 
redoubt  on  the  east  side  of  Harlem  creek,  nearly  opposite  the 
fort  on  Laurel  Hill,  and  under  the  fire  of  its  cannon  for  the 
security  of  their  advanced  troops  on  the  Morrisania  side." 
Later  he  writes:  "On  the  20th  of  October,  1782,  the  enemy 
were  demolishing  their  works  at  Number  8,  Morrisania."  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  the  British  maintained  a  garrison  at 
Number  Eight  for  about  three  years  longer  than  they  did  at 
the  other  posts  in  the  neighborhood. 

The  Archer  house  was  in  the  possession  of  Samuel  Archer, 
a  descendant  of  Benjamin,  thirty-five  years  ago.  He  then 
sold  it  and  the  adjacent  tract;  and  for  many  years,  the 
house  was  unused  except  as  a  tool-house.  It  finally  fell 
to  pieces  about  1890.  The  picture  shown  was  taken  in 
1889,  and  the  author  is  indebted  for  it,  as  well  as  for  the  ac- 
count of  its  position  and  later  history,  to  the  late  G.  L.  Dash- 
wood,  Esq.,  of  Morris  Heights.  It  is  probable  that  the 
pontoon  bridge  maintained  by  the  British  throughout  the  war 
for  communication  with  Manhattan,  and  which  was  destroyed 
in  one  of  Hull's  raids,  was  located  here,  connecting  the  shore 
under  Number  Eight  with  that  part  of  the  meadows  under 
Laurel  Hill  which  is  locally  known  as  Huckleberry  Island. 

Burnside  Avenue  winds  its  way  down  the  steep  hill  towards 
the  Harlem  into  Cedar  Avenue,  a  continuation  of  Sedgwick 


350 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Avenue  on  the  lower  level.  Here  is  the  Morris  Heights 
station  of  the  Central  and  Putnam  railroads ;  and  on  the  river 
bank,  an  extensive  plant  for  the  building  of  naphtha  yachts 
and  launches.  Several  of  the  fast  torpedo  boats  of  the 
United  States  Navy  have  also  been  built  here,  and  a  naval 
officer  to  superintend  government  work  is  usually  stationed 
at  the  works. 

From  this  point  southward  to  Washington  Bridge,  the  ridge 
was  formerly  occupied  by  a  succession  of  fine  residences  and 
estates,  many  of  which  have  already  found  their  way  into 
the  hands  of  the  real  estate  broker.  These  residences  were 
built  between  1840  and  i860,  and  like  those  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Borough,  were  the  homes  of  people  of  wealth, 
culture,  and  refinement.  There  were  no  railroads  in  those 
days,  but  access  was  had  to  this  vicinity  by  private  conveyance 
and  by  the  boats  that  used  to  ply  the  Harlem  River  and  con- 
nect at  Harlem  Bridge  with  the  fast  boats  running  to  Peck 
Slip  by  way  of  the  East  River.  The  widening  and  improve- 
ment of  Aqueduct  Avenue  furnish  a  magnificent  driveway 
and  boulevard  from  Washington  Bridge.  Just  south  of  High- 
bridge  is  the  southern  line  of  the  ancient  manor,  a  line  running 
east  to  the  Bronx  River  at  West  Farms. 

The  neighborhood  of  Highbridge  is  called  Highbridgeville, 
though  it  extends  along  Devoe's  Neck  as  far  as  Central  Bridge. 
In  the  days  of  the  river  steamers,  Highbridge  was  a  favorite 
resort,  and  hotels  and  restaurants  did  well.  The  view  from 
the  bridge  on  a  moonlight  night  was  a  beautiful  one — to  see 
the  river  stretching  away  in  both  directions  and  glittering 
in  the  moonlight,  while  the  streets  and  avenues  of  northern 
Manhattan  were  marked  out  by  the  rows  of  glimmering  gas 
lamps,  reaching  away  for  miles,  to  the  upper  end  of  Central 
Park  at  1 10th  Street,  with  few  houses  to  break  their  continuity. 


Fordham  Manor 


35i 


Scattered  through  the  manor  are  several  public  parks,  St, 
James,  Washington  Bridge,  Fordham,  University,  Poe,  Echo, 
and  the  larger  part  of  Bronx  Park,  including  the  Zoological 
and  the  Botanical  gardens.  The  new  Grand  Concourse  and 
Boulevard  passes  through  the  manor  from  south  to  north 
from  its  starting-point  at  East  161st  Street. 

Poe  Park  lies  on  the  Kingsbridge  Road  west  of  the  Fordham 
station  of  the  Harlem  Railroad.  Its  name  is  derived  from  the 
poet,  Edgar  Allan  Poe,  who  resided  in  Fordham  from  1845 
to  1849.  The  cottage  in  which  he  lived  and  in  which  his  wife 
died  is  not  within  the  limits  of  the  park;  nor  is  it  on  the  same 
site  as  when  Poe  occupied  it.  The  cottage  is  almost  obscured 
by  a  row  of  wooden  flats,  which  shine  in  borrowed  glory  under 
the  name  of  "Poe  Villas."  Since  the  city  has  gone  to  the 
expense  of  the  park,  the  proper  thing  to  do,  probably,  would 
be  to  buy  the  cottage  also.  The  author  has  been  informed 
that  the  city  attempted  to  do  this,  but  that  the  price  demanded 
is  excessive.  The  cottage  is  a  story  and  a  half  in  height,  with 
the  gable  end  toward  the  street.  On  the  gable  is  a  picture  of 
a  raven  and  the  legend  "Poe  Cottage";  from  which  one  might 
be  led  to  believe  that  the  famous  poem  had  been  written  in  the 
building.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Raven  was  written  in  an 
old  house  in  West  Eighty-fourth  Street  near  Broadway,  which 
was  standing  as  late  as  1890. 

The  story  of  Poe's  short  and  erratic  life  is  a  sad  one.  His 
father  came  from  an  excellent  Maryland  family;  but,  while  a 
law  student,  he  married  a  beautiful  actress,  Elizabeth  Arnold, 
and  went  on  the  stage.  The  two  parents  died  in  Richmond, 
Virginia,  within  a  few  weeks  of  each  other,  leaving  three 
destitute  children,  Henry,  Edgar,  and  Rosalie.  A  wealthy 
gentleman,  Mr.  Allan,  from  whom  Poe  received  his  middle 
name,  took  charge  of  young  Edgar  and  sent  him  to  the  Uni- 


352  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


versity  of  Virginia  after  his  having  spent  several  years  in  an 
English  school.  His  fast  life  at  the  University  led  to  his  ex- 
pulsion; and,  having  quarrelled  with  Mr.  Allan,  Poe  went  to 
Europe  for  the  purpose  of  joining  the  Greeks  in  their  fight  for 
independence  from  Turkey.  He  wandered  over  Europe  for 
a  year,  when  he  returned  to  the  United  States  and  went  to 
West  Point,  from  which  he  was  expelled  within  ten  months 
for  his  irregular  conduct.  He  was  taken  into  favor  again  by 
Mr.  Allan;  but  another  rupture  followed  on  account  of  Poe's 
incivility  to  his  benefactor's  second  wife,  so  it  is  said.  The 
death  of  Mr.  Allan  threw  Poe  upon  his  own  resources,  and  he 
took  to  literature,  writing  for  the  magazines  and  newspapers 
and  winning  several  money  prizes  for  his  work,  though 
the  pay  he  received  was  meagre  if  measured  by  present 
standards. 

In  1835,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  he  married  his  cousin, 
Virginia  Clemm,  a  professional  singer;  and  in  1837,  he  removed 
from  Richmond  to  New  York;  but  not  meeting  with  much 
success  in  New  York,  the  young  couple  removed  to  Philadel- 
phia in  1838.  Here  Fortune  was  no  more  favorable  than 
before;  and  after  six  years  they  returned  to  New  York,  in 
1844.  The  following  year,  the  Poes  removed  to  Fordham  on 
account  of  the  failing  health  of  Mrs.  Poe,  to  whom  her  husband 
was  devotedly  attached,  in  order  that  she  might  get  the  benefit 
of  the  pure  country  air.  Here  they  lived  in  poverty,  the  wife 
gradually  fading  away  until  January,  1847,  when  she  died. 
Poe's  mother-in-law,  Mrs.  Clemm,  lived  with  them  and  re- 
mained at  the  Fordham  cottage  with  Poe  until  June,  1849, 
when  he  went  to  Richmond  for  a  few  months.  While  on  his 
way  back  to  New  York,  he  died  in  Baltimore  at  the  age  of 
thirty-eight.  The  body  of  his  wife  was  buried  in  the  cemetery 
of  the  old  Dutch  Church  at  Fordham;  but,  in  1878,  it  was 


Fordham  Manor 


353 


removed  and  taken  to  Baltimore,  where  it  was  reinterred 
beside  that  of  her  devoted  husband. 

During  Poe's  residence  at  Fordham,  he  was  a  constant 
visitor  at  the  Macomb  house  at  Kingsbridge  and  also  at  St. 
John's  College,  where  he  made  many  friends  among  the  priests 
stationed  there.  Another  house  that  he  visited  was  that  be- 
longing to  Mr.  Lorillard,  now  used  by  the  Home  for  Incurables; 
and  there  were  two  others,  Duffy's  saloon,  now  gone,  and  Elm 
Cottage,  at  the  corner  of  Fordham  Road  and  Webster  Avenue. 
These  two  catered  to  the  appetite  for  drink  which  was  his 
undoing.  Though  worried  about  his  wife's  health,  as  well  as 
about  his  financial  condition,  Poe  seems  to  have  presented  a 
bold  front  to  the  world,  as  those  who  remembered  him  during 
this  period  spoke  of  him  as  being  bright  and  pleasant.  The 
depression  under  which  he  really  labored  found  vent  in  Eureka, 
Ulalume,  For  Annie,  and,  after  his  wife's  death,  in  Annabel 
Lee,  three  of  which  were  written  here,  in  Fordham. 

The  centenary  of  Poe's  birth  occurred  on  January  10,  1909. 
It  was  celebrated  at  New  York  University,  where  his  name  had 
not  yet  been  added  to  the  "Hall  of  Fame,"  and  also  at  the  cot- 
tage where  his  wife  had  died.  A  bust  of  the  poet  was  unveiled 
with  appropriate  honors  in  the  park  named  in  his  honor,  op- 
posite the  cottage;  and  in  October,  19 10,  he  was  elected  to 
the  "Hall  of  Fame." 

Just  north  of  the  Fordham  station  of  the  Harlem  Railroad 
are  the  extensive  grounds  and  buildings  of  Fordham  University. 
During  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  days,  the  property  was 
owned  by  a  member  of  the  Corsa  family,  from  whose  hands  it 
passed  into  the  possession  of  the  Watts  family,  and  later  into 
the  possession  of  the  Brevoorts.  The  last  owner  before  it 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Catholic  Church  for  educational 

purposes  was  John  Mowatt,  Esq.,  a  wealthy  gentleman  of 

23 


354  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


New  York,  who  erected  a  fine  stone  mansion  which  is  still 
used  as  one  of  the  College  buildings.  Under  the  last  owner 
the  estate  which  contained  about  two  hundred  acres,  was 
known  as  Rose  Hill.  The  old  homestead  of  the  Corsas  stood 
until  1897,  upon  the  north  side  of  the  college  campus,  but  was 
destroyed  in  that  year  to  make  way  for  the  Auditorium, 
erected  for  the  use  of  the  students.  During  the  Revolution, 
the  Corsa  house  is  said  to  have  been  frequently  visited  by 
Washington  and  other  distinguished  leaders;  but  the  same 
thing  is  said  of  every  house  that  has  the  least  claim  to  antiquity, 
even  though  the  ''Father  of  his  Country"  is  known  to  have 
never  visited  the  neighborhood.  It  is  stated  on  credible 
grounds,  however,  that  the  gallant  and  dashing  partisan 
leader  De  Armond  used  the  house  on  several  occasions  as  his 
quarters  when  engaged  in  some  of  his  raids  into  the  British 
lines.  The  ancient  road,  connecting  Kingsbridge  and  the 
borough-town  of  Westchester  formerly  passed  through  the 
college  grounds. 

The  Rose  Hill  property  was  acquired  in  1839  by  Bishop 
John  Hughes  of  the  Roman  Catholic  diocese  of  New  York  for 
the  sum  of  $30,000;  it  comprised  ninety-seven  acres  at  that 
time.  At  this  writing,  it  contains  less  than  seventy,  as  por- 
tions were  taken  by  the  city  for  Bronx  Park,  and  two  other 
strips  have  been  taken  for  railroad  purposes,  the  last  in  1899 
for  an  extension  of  the  elevated  railroad  to  Bronx  Park  from 
its  former  terminus  at  Pelham  Avenue.  St.  John's  College 
was  formally  opened  on  June  24,  1841,  under  the  administra- 
tion of  secular  priests.  It  was  incorporated  as  a  university 
April  10,  1846;  and  the  same  year,  the  property  was  purchased 
by  the  Jesuit  Fathers  for  $40,500;  it  has  since  remained  in 
their  possession  and  under  their  control.  The  Rose  Hill 
mansion,  erected  in  1838,  is  used  for  office  and  reception  pur- 


Fordham  Manor 


355 


poses,  while  the  two  wings  attached  to  it  contain  a  college  hall, 
and  an  armory,  music-room,  wardrobe,  and  sixteen  rooms 
for  the  infirmary.  Two  five-story  stone  buildings  furnish 
accommodations  in  the  way  of  dormitories,  recitation  rooms, 
etc.,  for  the  older  students,  while  St.  John's  Hall  furnishes 
similar  accommodations  for  the  younger.  In  addition,  there 
are  St.  John's  Chapel,  Science  Hall,  and  the  Faculty  building, 
besides  libraries  for  both  instructors  and  students  and  a  chapel 
for  the  latter.  All  the  students  are  obliged  to  take  courses 
in  military  instruction,  both  theoretical  and  practical,  under 
the  guidance  of  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Army  detailed 
for  the  purpose. 

South  of  the  grounds  of  the  university  was  formerly  situated 
the  farm  of  the  Reverend  William  Powell,  Rector  of  St. 
Peter's,  Westchester,  from  1830  to  1849.  He  obtained  the 
property  by  marriage  with  the  widow  of  one  of  the  Bayard 
family,  in  whose  possession  the  farm  had  been  formerly.  Dr. 
Powell  conducted  here  a  noted  boarding-school  for  boys,  as 
well  as  attending  to  his  duties  as  rector.  South  of  the  Powell 
farm,  upon  land  formerly  belonging  to  Jacob  Lorillard,  is 
situated  what  was  known  before  annexation  as  the  village  of 
Belmont;  it  took  its  name  from  that  of  the  estate. 

Lying  between  Third  Avenue,  which  is  here  a  part  of  the 
ancient  Kingsbridge  Road,  and  the  Quarry  Road,  and  from 
East  1 8 1st  to  East  184th  Street,  is  the  property  of  the  Home 
for  Incurables.  This  institution  was  incorporated  in  1866, 
and  is  under  the  control  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church; 
but  in  admitting  patients,  the  matter  of  religious  belief  is 
ignored.  The  object  of  the  institution  is  to  furnish  a  home 
for  those  suffering  from  incurable  diseases  and  make  as  happy 
and  comfortable  as  possible  the  last  days  of  those  who  can 
never  again  be  well.    The  home  originally  occupied  the  old 


356 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Jacob  Lorillard  mansion,  but  many  additions  have  been  made 
to  keep  pace  with  the  growing  needs  of  the  institution.  One 
third  of  the  patients  are  treated  without  charge. 

To  the  east  of  Belmont  were  the  Lorillard  and  Lydig  estates, 
both  of  which  were  taken  by  the  city  for  Bronx  Park.  The 
former  contained  the  snuff  mills  of  the  Lorillards,  and  the 
latter,  the  dams  and  mill-ponds  of  the  ancient  De  Lancey 
mills,  as  well  as  the  mills  themselves. 

To  the  north  of  Fordham  University,  but  on  the  west  side 
of  the  tracks  of  the  Harlem  Railroad,  is  located  the  residential 
section,  called  Bedford  Park.  It  lies  opposite  Bronx  Park; 
and  to  avoid  confusion,  the  railroad  company  calls  its  station 
Bronx  Park  Botanical  Gardens,  instead  of  Bedford  Park,  as 
formerly.  The  station  is  on  city  property  and  is  within  the 
control  of  the  park  commissioner.  The  Ursuline  Academy, 
founded  in  1893,  occupies  a  commanding  position  at  Bedford 
Park.  Upwards  of  two  hundred  students  are  accommodated 
in  a  building  that  is  modern  in  all  respects. 

In  the  northeast  corner  of  the  manor  is  the  former  village 
of  Williamsbridge,  though  the  name  is  more  generally  applied 
to  the  former  village  of  Olinville  on  the  east  of  the  Bronx. 
There  was  a  bridge  here  over  the  Bronx  in  very  early  times, 
probably  in  1670,  when  Governor  Lovelace  directed  that  Betts 
and  Tippett  should  first  assist  in  building  the  "causey"  at 
Fordham  before  being  assisted  in  their  turn  by  Verveelen  and 
Archer  in  building  a  bridge  across  the  Bronx  River.  After 
the  establishment  of  the  post  to  Boston  before  1680,  the 
maintenance  of  the  bridge  over  the  stream  became  necessary. 
In  pre-Revolutionary  days,  the  farm  adjacent  to  the  bridge  was 
owned  by  John  Williams,  and  so  the  bridge  became  popularly 
known  by  his  name.  The  present  inadequate  iron  structure 
occupies  approximately  the  same  site  as  former  bridges.  Gun 


Fordham  Manor 


357 


Hill  is  an  eminence  to  the  west  of  the  river  now  occupied  by  a 
distributing  reservoir.  In  1888,  the  waters  of  the  Bronx 
River  were  impounded  at  North  Castle  in  Westchester  County 
by  the  construction  of  the  Kensico  dam,  at  the  same  time  that 
a  reservoir  was  building  on  Gun  Hill.  Water  was  admitted 
into  the  reservoir  on  December  4,  1888,  and  the  distribution 
of  the  water  to  the  Annexed  District  was  begun.  The  reser- 
voir has  a  capacity  of  150,000,000  gallons  when  it  is  filled  to 
a  depth  of  forty  feet ;  and  though  it  has  been  found  necessary 
to  tap  the  Croton  Aqueduct,  the  Gun  Hill  reservoir  still  sup- 
plies a  large  part  of  the  Borough. 

To  the  west  of  the  reservoir,  at  Van  Cortlandt  Street  and 
Woodlawn  Road,  still  stands  the  old  Valentine  house  of 
Heath's  attack,  which  was  for  many  years  the  homestead  of 
the  Varian  family.  The  old  farm  was  cut  up  into  building 
lots  in  April,  1905. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


MORRISANIA 

THE  first  lord  of  the  manor  of  Morrisania,  the  Honor- 
able Lewis  Morris,  second  of  the  name,  died  in  the 
spring  of  1746,  aged  seventy- three.  By  his  will,  he 
directed  that  he  should  be  buried  at  Morrisania,  and  that  his 
funeral  should  be  conducted  in  a  manner  that  was  Quakerish 
in  its  simplicity.  He  prohibited  "any  mourning  dress  to  be 
worn  on  his  account,  as  he  should  die  when  divine  Providence 
should  call  him  away,  and  was  unwilling  that  his  friends  should 
be  at  the  unnecessary  expense,  which  was  owing  only  to  the 
common  folly  of  mankind."  Which  is  equally  true  to-day, 
when,  to  the  high  cost  of  living,  is  added  the  high  cost  of 
dying.  To  his  son  Lewis,  he  left  all  that  part  of  the  manor 
lying  east  of  the  Mill  Brook;  to  his  wife,  Isabella  Graham, 
the  remainder  of  the  estate,  lying  westward  of  the  Mill 
Brook,  called  "Old  Morrisania";  and  to  his  second  son,  Rob- 
ert Hunter  Morris,  he  bequeathed  his  New  Jersey  estates. 

Upon  the  death  of  his  mother,  Lewis  Morris,  third  of  the 
name,  and  second  manor-lord,  usually  called  "Junior,"  be- 
came possessed  of  the  whole  manor.  He  was  married  twice, 
his  first  wife  being  Elizabeth  Staats,  by  whom  he  had  three 
sons;  Lewis,  the  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
Staats  Long,  a  general  in  the  British  army,  who  married 

Catherine,  Duchess  of  Gordon,  whose  son  was  the  instigator 

358 


Morrisania 


359 


of  the  "Gordon  riots"  described  in  Dickens's  Barnaby  Rudge, 
and  the  Honorable  Richard  Morris,  who  married  into  the 
Ludlow  family,  and  who  was  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Admiralty 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  The  second  wife  of  Lewis  Mor- 
ris, Junior,  was  Sarah  Gouverneur,  by  whom  he  had  one  son, 
the  Honorable  Gouverneur  Morris,  and  four  daughters,  one 
of  whom,  Isabella,  became  the  wife  of  the  Reverend  Isaac 
Wilkins. 

Lewis  Morris,  Junior,  died  in  1762,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four. 
By  his  will,  dated  November  19,  1760,  he  bequeathed  to  his 
eldest  son  Lewis  "all  that  part  of  Morrisania  west  of  the  Mill 
Brook";  to  his  wife,  "the  land  upon  which  my  house  stands 
west  of  the  Mill  Brook";  and  to  his  other  sons,  the  remaining 
part  of  the  manor.  He  also  directed  that  his  son  Gouverneur 
was  to  have  the  best  education  "that  was  to  be  had  in  England 
or  America."  The  legacy  of  the  land  to  the  west  of  the  Mill 
Brook  carried  with  it  the  right  to  the  use  of  the  stream  for 
milling  and  other  purposes,  so  that  the  east  bank  really  became 
the  boundary.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  to-day,  in  consequence, 
the  purchaser  of  a  lot  which  lies  on  both  sides  of  the  bed 
of  the  former  stream,  that  is,  which  would  be  crossed  by  the 
stream  if  it  existed,  is  obliged  to  get  a  quit-claim,  or  release, 
of  the  brook  from  the  descendants  of  the  original  legatee,  in 
order  that  the  title  shall  be  clear  and  above  reproach. 

Lewis  became  the  manor-lord  and  continued  so  until  after 
the  Revolution.  Upon  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities,  he  be- 
came a  brigadier-general  in  the  American  army,  but,  early 
in  the  war,  he  resigned  his  position  to  become  a  member  of 
the  Continental  Congress ;  and,  as  such,  his  name  is  affixed  as  a 
signer  of  the  Declaration,  as  a  delegate  from  New  York. 
His  brother,  Staats  Long,  refused  to  perform  service  in 
America  against  his  countrymen  and  remained  in  England 


360  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


during  the  whole  war,  notwithstanding  which  he  rose  to 
high  rank  in  the  British  service  before  his  death. 

The  manor-house  of  Lewis  Morris,  west  of  the  Mill  Brook, 
stood  until  about  1891,  when  it  was  demolished  by  the  New 
York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  Railroad  in  making  improve- 
ments for  the  Suburban  branch  along  the  Harlem  River  and 
Bronx  Kills.  It  stood  west  of  Brook  Avenue,  and  was  known 
as  "Christ's  Hotel." 

The  most  famous  of  the  Morris  family  was  Gouverneur 
Morris,  who  was  born  at  Morrisania,  January  31,  1752.  As 
a  boy,  he  went  for  instruction  to  Dominie  Tetard,  from  whom 
he  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  and  control  of  the  French 
language,  as  well  as  of  other  matters.  In  accordance  with 
his  father's  directions,  he  received  the  best  education  to  be 
obtained  in  America,  and  was  graduated  from  King's  College 
in  1768,  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  Subsequently,  he  studied  law, 
and  became  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  brilliant  lawyers  in 
America.  Upon  the  approach  of  hostilities,  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  and,  July  8,  1775,  a 
member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  Westchester  County. 
During  the  whole  of  the  struggle  with  the  mother  country, 
he  was  in  the  active  service  of  his  country,  serving  it  in  a 
political  capacity.  He  was  a  close  friend  and  confidant  of 
Washington;  and  between  him  and  Hamilton,  there  existed 
the  most  intimate  relations  until  the  death  of  the  latter  as 
a  result  of  his  duel  with  Burr.  The  oration  over  the  body  of 
Hamilton,  an  oration  famous  for  its  power  and  pathos,  was 
pronounced  by  his  friend,  Gouverneur  Morris. 

Morris  was  a  member  of  Congress  during  the  war,  and  he 
was  also  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1787. 
As  a  member  of  the  latter  body,  he  framed  the  final  draft  of 
the  Constitution  as  submitted  to  the  States  for  ratification ; 


Morrisania 


36i 


and  the  beautiful,  clear,  and  forceful  English  of  that  instru- 
ment is  almost  entirely  his  work.1  He  was  a  Federalist  in 
politics,  and  assisted  Jay  and  Hamilton  with  tongue  and  pen, 
until  his  departure  for  Europe,  in  striving  for  the  ratification 
of  the  Constitution  by  the  several  States.  As  a  statesman, 
according  to  Theodore  Roosevelt,  Morris  ranked  with  these 
two  famous  Federalists;  as  a  financier,  he  ranked  after  the 
financier  of  the  Revolution,  Robert  Morris,  whose  assistant 
he  had  been,  and  after  Alexander  Hamilton,  our  great  first 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Morris  was  a  man  of  brilliant  parts,  with  a  rough,  caustic 
tongue  and  pen  which  made  him  many  enemies.  He  was  an 
aristocrat  born  and  bred,  with  a  brusque  and  supercilious 
way  that  did  not  lend  itself  well  to  diplomacy.  Washington 
esteemed  his  patriotism  highly  and  admired  his  directness 
and  good  judgment,  but  declined  to  appoint  him  on  some 
diplomatic  mission  for  fear  his  manner  would  defeat  the  object 
of  the  mission  by  arousing  the  ire  of  those  whom  he  would 
meet  and  whom  it  would  be  his  duty  to  conciliate.  He  be- 
lieved in  "calling  a  spade  a  spade."  Even  in  that  time  of  easy 
morals,  Morris  was  conspicuous  for  his  disregard  of  the  opinions 
of  the  respectable  portion  of  the  community,  and  liked  to  shock 
people  with  his  vagaries. 

One  of  his  fads  was  to  drive  a  pair  of  spirited  horses  without 
reins.  Though  repeatedly  warned  by  his  friends  of  the  danger 
of  doing  so,  he  continued  to  laugh  at  their  misgivings  until 
one  day  in  May,  1780,  when  his  team  ran  away  with  him  in 
the  streets  of  Philadelphia,  and  one  leg  was  crushed  so  badly 
that  the  surgeons  thought  it  necessary  to  amputate  it ;  in  con- 
sequence, for  the  rest  of  his  life,  Morris  was  obliged  to  hobble 

1  Many  people  confuse  the  United  States  Constitution  with  the  United 
States  Frigate  Constitution,  and  ascribe  the  latter  to  Morris. 


362 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


around  on  a  wooden  leg.  A  religious  friend  called  upon  him 
one  day  to  sympathize  with  him  on  the  loss  of  his  leg,  and  to 
tell  him  it  was  all  for  the  best,  as  it  was  an  act  of  Divine  wis- 
dom; to  whom  Morris  replied:  "My  good  sir,  you  argue  the 
matter  so  handsomely,  and  point  out  so  clearly  the  advantages 
of  being  without  legs,  that  I  am  almost  tempted  to  part  with 
the  other." 

During  the  war,  his  mother  remained  a  loyalist  and  occupied 
the  manor-house  at  Morrisania,  or  a  house  in  New  York.  He 
did  not  see  her  for  seven  years ;  but  during  that  time,  both  he 
and  his  half-brother,  Lewis,  corresponded  with  her  whenever 
opportunity  offered,  an  act  which  called  forth  the  denuncia- 
tions of  their  enemies,  who  even  impugned  their  loyalty  to 
the  cause  for  which  they  were  both  doing  so  much. 

In  1788,  Morris  left  for  an  extended  tour  in  Europe,  and 
was  in  Paris  during  the  distressing  events  preceding  the  French 
Revolution.  His  advice  was  sought  by  Louis  XVI.  and  his 
ministers,  and  he  drew  up  for  his  Majesty  an  address  from  the 
throne.  Had  his  judgment  in  other  matters  been  followed, 
the  Terror  might  have  been  averted  and  Louis  allowed  to  die  a 
natural  death,  or,  at  least,  to  have  abdicated  peacefully. 
Morris  was  at  last  made  minister  to  the  Court  of  Versailles, 
and  he  remained  in  Paris  during  the  whole  of  the  Reign  of 
Terror,  being  the  only  foreign  representative  that  did  so.  His 
experiences  read  with  all  the  interest  and  excitement  of  a 
romance;  and  many  times  his  life  was  in  danger  from  the 
blood-thirsty  mob  and  its  leaders,  whom  he  treated  with  the 
aristocratic  contempt  and  brusqueness  so  peculiar  to  him, 
whose  effect  was  often  more  irritating  than  soothing;  yet  he 
came  safely  through.  After  his  supersession  as  minister  by 
Monroe,  in  August,  1794,  at  the  request  of  the  Directory  as 
a  set-off  to  Genet's  recall,  Morris  made  an  extended  tour  of 


Morrisania 


363 


Europe,  and  was  received  everywhere  with  honor  and  consider- 
ation. In  Austria,  he  tried  to  secure  the  release  of  Lafay- 
ette; but  though  unsuccessful,  he  procured  for  the  Marquis 
many  privileges  that  tended  to  mitigate  the  tedium  of  his 
confinement. 

In  1786,  he  bought  from  his  half-brother  Staats,  the  British 
general,  the  property  Staats  had  inherited  from  their  common 
father;  and  this,  with  the  property  inherited  from  his  mother 
at  her  death,  made  a  large  estate  at  Morrisania.  Morris 
returned  to  the  United  States  in  October,  1798,  and  soon  after- 
ward erected  the  mansion  which  stood  below  East  133d  Street, 
abreast  of  Cypress  Avenue.  In  1809,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight, 
he  married  Anne  Cary  Randolph,  a  sister  of  John  Randolph 
of  Roanoke,  and  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Indian  Princess 
Pocahontas.  He  settled  down  at  last  to  a  life  of  middle-aged 
marital  happiness.  His  family  consisted  of  one  son,  Gouvern- 
eur,  and  several  daughters. 

He  once  more  interested  himself  in  politics,  and  was  United 
States  Senator  from  the  State  of  New  York  from  1799  to 
1 803 ;  but  upon  the  defeat  of  the  Federalists  by  the  Democratic- 
Republicans  under  Jefferson,  he  withdrew  from  politics,  taking 
an  exceedingly  pessimistic  view  of  the  future  of  the  country, 
which  he  considered  had  been  turned  over  to  the  mercies  of 
an  ignorant  mob.  With  his  aristocratic  birth  and  training,  he 
could  not  take  the  same  view  of  "the  common  people"  that 
distinguished  Lincoln  and  McKinley,  themselves  sprung 
from  that  source.  Morris  was  probably  the  first  one  to  ad- 
vance the  idea  of  connecting  the  harbor  of  New  York  with 
the  great  inland  seas  by  means  of  an  artificial  waterway,  and 
he  foresaw  the  immense  trade  that  would  accrue  to  the  city 
as  a  result.  He  was  opposed  to  Governor  George  Clinton 
politically,  but  the  governor  appointed  Morris  one  of  the 


3<H 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


members  of  the  first  commission  to  inquire  into  the  feasibility 
of  the  Erie  Canal  and  to  superintend  its  construction  (1810). 

In  person,  Morris  resembled  Washington  so  closely  that  he 
stood  to  Houdin,  the  sculptor,  as  a  model  for  Washington's 
figure.  His  mansion  at  Morrisania  was  open  to  distinguished 
persons  of  all  kinds;  among  these  were  Louis  Philippe  d'  Orleans, 
afterward  King  of  the  French,  and  his  brothers,  the  Due  de 
Montpensier  and  the  Comte  de  Beaujolais,  to  whom  Morris 
lent  considerable  money  on  the  occasion  of  their  visit  in  1799. 
General  Moreau,  one  of  Napoleon's  famous  commanders, 
was  also  entertained  at  Morrisania  after  the  downfall  of  the 
Emperor;  and  upon  the  visit  of  Lafayette  in  1824,  he  also 
was  entertained  at  the  mansion  by  the  young  son  of  the 
distinguished  father. 

The  Gouverneur  Morris  house,  to  which  many  additions  had 
been  made  by  the  builder's  successors,  commanded  a  magni- 
ficent view  of  the  East  River  to  the  south,  overlooking  Bronx 
Kills  and  Randall's  Island.  The  rooms  were  large  and  lofty, 
and  upon  the  floors  were  the  marks  made  by  Morris's  wooden 
leg.  Some  weak  efforts  were  made  at  one  time  to  preserve 
the  house  as  a  museum  and  the  grounds  in  which  it  was 
situated  as  a  public  park;  but  about  1905,  the  property 
was  secured  by  the  railroad  and  the  historic  mansion  was 
demolished. 

Randall's  Island  is  separated  from  the  mainland  by  the 
strait  called  Bronx  Kills,  and  from  Ward's  Island  on  the  south 
by  Little  Hell  Gate ;  the  two  islands  were  called  in  the  Dutch 
days  Little  and  Great  Barent's  islands  respectively,  corrupted 
after  the  advent  of  the  English  into  Little  and  Great  Barn 
islands.  They  were  both  farmed  by  Governor  Van  Twiller, 
and  the  Government  had  considerable  difficulty  in  getting 
them  back  from  him. 


The  Gouverneur  Morris  Mansion. 


View  from  the  Bronx  Kills  Side. 


Buildings  on  Randall's  Island. 


Morrisania,  about  1861,  160th  Street  at  the  Junction  of  Brook  and  Third  Avenues. 

From  an  old  print  in  the  Collection  of  J.  Clarence  Davies,  Esq. 


The  Mott  Haven  Canal. 


Morrisania 


365 


In  ancient  days,  there  was  a  ford,  or  wading  place,  between 
Verchers,  or  Hogg,  island,  as  it  was  also  called,  and  the 
"Maine";  and  it  is  mentioned  in  the  grant  of  Colonel  Nicolls 
to  John  Verveelen,  the  Harlem  ferryman,  in  1666.  In  Rev- 
olutionary days,  the  pickets  of  the  two  armies  used  to  fire  upon 
each  other  across  the  strait;  while  the  manor-house  of  Lewis 
Morris  was  at  first  occupied  by  an  American  outpost,  and 
later,  by  a  British  one. 

Randall's  Island  is  without  the  Borough,  lying  at  the  mouth 
of  Harlem  River.  Elias  Pipon  bought  the  island  in  1732, 
erected  a  house,  and  named  his  purchase  Belle  Isle;  after 
fifteen  years,  it  became  Talbot's  Island  after  a  new  purchaser; 
and,  in  1772,  Montressor's  Island,  after  Captain  John  Mont- 
ressor,  who  bought  it  in  that  year.  He  was  the  owner  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Revolution.  It  was  bought  by  Samuel 
Ogden  in  the  spring  of  1784;  he  sold  it  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  to  Jonathan  Randel  for  the  sum  of  £24.  In  1835,  the 
city  bought  the  island  from  Randel's  executors  for  $50,000; 
but,  wishing  to  do  honor  to  the  late  owner,  changed  the  orthog- 
raphy of  his  name  to  Randall.  There  are  about  one  hundred 
acres  on  the  island,  which  is  occupied  by  numerous  buildings 
devoted  to  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  needs  of  children. 
These  are  under  the  Charities  Department,  except  the  House 
of  Refuge  for  juvenile  delinquents  committed  by  the  courts. 
This  is  the  oldest  reformatory  in  the  United  States  and  is 
under  control  of  the  Society  for  the  Reformation  of  Juvenile 
Delinquents.  There  are  about  eight  hundred  boys  and  girls 
in  separate  buildings,  and  thirty  acres  are  set  aside  for  their 
use.  A  regular  school  is  maintained,  as  well  as  occupations 
in  the  open  air,  military  drills,  and  work  at  different  trades. 
The  island  has  some  fine  trees  and  is  beautifully  laid  out, 
while  the  buildings  are,  in  general,  of  attractive  architecture. 


366 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


So  important  has  the  navigation  of  the  river  become  that 
strong  representations  have  been  constantly  made  to  the 
National  Government  to  deepen  the  Bronx  Kills  to  a  depth  of 
nine  feet  at  low  tide,  in  order  to  prevent  the  long  trip  around 
Randall's  Island  for  vessels  going  from  the  East  River  to  the 
Harlem,  or  in  the  opposite  direction. 

Lewis  Morris,  the  Signer  and  last  manor-lord  of  Morrisania, 
died  in  1798.  His  estate  was  divided  up  among  his  descend- 
ants, some  of  whom  also  acquired  property  in  the  old  manor  of 
Fordham.  The  land  once  forming  the  manor  of  Morrisania 
has  been  divided  and  subdivided  until  the  names  of  the 
present  owners  constitute  a  legion. 

The  development  of  Morrisania,  at  the  close  of  the  Revo- 
lution, the  most  sparsely  settled  portion  of  the  county  of 
Westchester,  but  to-day  the  most  populous  section  of  the 
Borough,  was  due  primarily  to  the  building  of  the  Harlem 
Railroad,  in  1842.  As  early  as  18 16,  the  year  he  died,  Gou- 
verneur  Morris  caused  his  property  to  be  surveyed  and  laid 
out  in  farm  lots  by  John  Randall,  surveyor  and  engineer,  and 
the  map  recorded.  This  property  also  included  a  portion  of 
"Old  Morrisania,"  west  of  the  Mill  Brook,  which  had  been 
obtained  from  General  Staats  Long  Morris,  the  inheritor 
from  his  father,  after  the  cessation  of  his  stepmother's  life 
interest. 

In  1828,  Jordan  L.  Mott,  the  inventor  of  the  coal-burning 
stove,  opened  a  modest  little  factory  on  the  plot  of  ground 
bounded  by  Third  Avenue,  134th  Street,  and  the  Harlem 
River.  The  foundry  grew  to  be  one  of  large  size ;  but  by  June, 
1906,  the  plant  was  too  cramped  in  its  Bronx  quarters  and  so 
was  removed  to  Trenton,  New  Jersey, 

Being  impressed  with  the  future  possibilities  of  this  section, 
Mott,  with  several  others,  bought  from  Gouverneur  Morris, 


Morrisania 


367 


Second,  two  hundred  acres  of  land  at  $175  an  acre — these 
were  sections  16  to  23  on  the  Randall  map  of  1816.  There  is 
a  story  to  the  effect  that  the  price  was  determined  as  follows : 
Mott,  who  was  tax  assessor,  placed  so  high  a  valuation  on  the 
property  as  to  call  forth  remonstrances  from  Morris,  who  ex- 
claimed that  he  would  be  glad  to  get  a  purchaser  at  the  as- 
sessed value;  whereupon  Mott  replied:  "I  '11  take  it";  and 
so  the  sale  was  effected. 

The  second  Gouverneur  Morris  inherited  the  bluntness  and 
disregard  of  public  opinion  of  his  distinguished  father.  Upon 
being  asked  by  an  employee  of  Jordan  L.  Mott  if  he  had  any 
objection  to  the  newly-purchased  section  being  called  Mott 
Haven,  he  replied:  " I  don't  care  what  he  calls  it;  while  he  is 
about  it,  he  might  as  well  change  the  name  of  the  Harlem  and 
call  it  the  Jordan"  A  friend  of  the  author's  attended  St. 
Ann's  Church  when  a  boy  and  remembers  seeing  the  old 
gentleman  guided  into  church  every  Sunday  morning  by  his 
women  folks,  his  hair  and  cravat  awry,  and  possessed  of  a 
great  bandanna  handkerchief,  with  which,  from  time  to  time, 
he  blew  sonorous  blasts  through  his  nose  that  set  the  young 
folks  off  into  convulsive  giggles.  At  heart,  he  was  a  good, 
charitable  man  and  exceedingly  democratic;  and  was  more 
often  seen  dressed  like  a  farmer  than  like  the  fine  gentleman 
he  really  was.  It  was  no  unusual  sight  to  see  him  drive  down 
to  the  steamer  which  carried  the  business  men  to  the  city 
beside  one  of  his  men  on  the  seat  of  a  dump-cart,  while  his 
neighbors  drove  in  elegant  equipages  with  their  coachmen 
in  livery. 

The  Mott  Haven  canal  lies  between  Third  and  Park  avenues 
and  it  allows  canal-boats  to  pass  from  the  Harlem  River  as  far 
as  138th  Street.  The  lower  part  of  the  canal  was  laid  out  by 
Jordan  L.  Mott,  about  1850.    It  followed  the  course  of  a 


368 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


small  stream  which  drained  the  ground  on  either  side  as  far 
as  144th  Street,  then  called  Main  Street  on  the  map  of  Mott 
Haven,  the  water  of  which  passed  through  a  sluiceway  at  Van 
Stoll  Street,  the  former  name  of  138th  Street,  which  was  a 
solid  street  across  the  brook.  By  deed  of  November  1,  1864, 
Mott  conveyed  the  property  contiguous  to  the  stream  to  a 
man  named  Bryant,  who,  in  1868,  began  the  extension  of  the 
canal  to  Main  Street,  having  an  understanding  with  the  Mor- 
risania  town  authorities  that  there  was  to  be  a  bridge  over 
Van  Stoll  Street. 

In  1869,  the  property  passed  into  the  hands  of  Rider  and 
Conkling,  the  owners  of  about  six  hundred  lots  in  Mott  Haven, 
who  proposed  to  complete  the  canal  to  Main  Street;  but  they 
at  once  met  with  opposition  from  the  residents  and  landowners 
of  the  vicinity,  on  the  ground  of  the  liability  of  the  canal's 
becoming  a  source  of  malaria  and  a  nuisance.  To  meet  these 
objections,  Rider  and  Conkling  made  proposals  to  the  village 
of  Morrisania,  and  were  permitted  to  construct  the  canal  under 
an  agreement  by  which  they  were  to  maintain  a  turn-table 
bridge  at  Van  Stoll  Street,  to  dredge  out  the  canal  and  bulk- 
head it,  to  build  and  keep  in  repair  other  bridges  crossing 
the  canal,  and  to  fill  in  the  canal  at  their  own  expense  on  the 
town's  order,  should  it  become  a  public  nuisance.  They 
further  agreed  to  permit  the  town  to  empty  its  sewage  into 
the  canal;  and  the  town  and  its  successor,  the  city  of  New 
York,  so  disposed  of  the  sewage  until  the  construction  of 
the  Rider  Avenue  sewer  gave  them  another  outlet  to  the 
river. 

The  owners  failed  to  bulkhead  the  canal  as  agreed,  and  the 
mud  banks  frequently  caved  in.  Locks  were  constructed, 
which  prevented  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide;  so  that  the  canal 
became  an  actual  cesspool  in  which  the  bodies  of  dead  animals 


Morrisania 


369 


and  other  refuse  floated  for  days.  The  canal  was  declared  a 
public  nuisance  by  the  boards  of  health  of  both  Morrisania 
and  New  York;  and,  after  annexation,  by  the  Park  Depart- 
ment, by  the  Department  of  Street  Improvements,  by  the 
Board  of  Estimate,  and  by  other  public  bodies.  A  street  was 
officially  laid  out  to  take  the  place  of  the  canal ;  and  upon  the 
opening  and  grading  of  138th  Street  by  the  city  of  New  York, 
the  Legislature  of  1896  authorized  the  construction  of  a  bridge 
on  that  street  over  the  canal.  The  street  soon  became  one 
of  the  most  important  thoroughfares  in  the  Borough,  as  it 
was  the  principal  outlet  for  the  coal,  lumber,  and  building  ma- 
terial yards  in  this  locality,  as  well  as  the  approach  to  the  Mott 
Haven  station  of  the  railroad,  and  to  the  Madison  Avenue 
Bridge.  When  the  trolley  lines  were  added  to  the  usual  traffic, 
the  old,  narrow,  wooden  bridge  over  the  canal  became  wholly 
inadequate,  and  the  street  became  badly  congested  at  that 
point. 

The  fight  against  the  canal  lasted  for  over  a  quarter  of  a 
century;  and  still  it  existed,  the  authorities  failing  either  to 
close  the  canal  and  abate  the  nuisance,  or  to  build  the  bridge 
authorized  by  law.  This  was  due  to  two  causes:  first,  the 
claim  of  the  owners  that  their  vested  rights  could  not  be  in- 
terfered with,  and  second,  the  enormous  political  power  wielded 
by  the  North  River  Electric  Light  and  Power  Company,  which 
used  the  canal  for  business  purposes.  The  claims  of  the  owners 
as  to  vested  rights  were  disposed  of  by  the  courts;  and  with  the 
change  in  administration  in  New  York,  the  electric  company 
lost  its  pull,  and  the  work  of  filling  in  the  canal  from  144th 
Street  down  was  begun  in  June,  1901.  In  February,  1903, 
the  Dock  Department  built  a  bulkhead  at  138th  Street;  and 
the  work  of  grading  and  curbing  Canal  Place,  as  the  new  street 
is  called,  was  completed  in  August,  1903.  The  materials 
24 


370  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


used  for  filling  in  came  from  the  subway  excavations  a  few 
blocks  above.1 

The  canal  at  present  extends  650  feet  from  the  Harlem  River 
to  135th  Street,  where  there  is  a  lifting  steel  bridge,  and  six 
hundred  feet  farther  to  138th  Street.  It  is  lined  with  coal 
elevators  and  bunkers.  The  accompanying  view  was  taken 
from  the  bridge  at  the  first-named  street. 

Adjoining  the  canal  on  the  west  and  extending  to  Park 
Avenue,  with  the  Harlem  River  and  135th  Street  as  its  other 
boundaries,  is  the  Harlem  Terminal  of  the  Erie,  Baltimore, 
and  Ohio,  New  Jersey  Central,  Philadelphia  and  Reading, 
and  Delaware,  Lackawanna,  and  Western  railroads.  The 
yard  was  opened  for  business  on  July  1,  1898,  as  an  uptown 
freight  station  for  these  roads  for  the  collection  and  distribu- 
tion of  local  freight.  The  capacity  of  the  yard  is  one  hundred 
and  fifty  cars,  which  are  brought  on  floats  by  way  of  the  East 
River  from  the  terminals  at  Jersey  City  and  Hoboken.  The 
yard  has  no  track  connection  with  the  Harlem  Railroad, 
which  it  almost  adjoins,  nor  with  the  New  York,  New  Haven, 
and  Hartford,  a  few  blocks  east.  The  yard  occupies  the  site 
that  was  suggested  by  the  North  Side  Board  of  Trade  as  that 
for  a  great  union  passenger  station. 

The  construction  of  the  Coles  bridge  over  the  Harlem  at 

Third  Avenue  led  to  the  settlement  of  a  small  village,  or 

hamlet,  at  its  northern  end,  lying  east  of  Third  Avenue  in 

the  Borough.    This  was  commonly  known  as  Morrisania  for 

many  years,  though  later  taking  the  name  of  North  New  York. 

By  1855,  there  was  quite  a  number  of  small  villages  scattered 

about  the  ancient  manor,  then  within  the  township  of  West 

1  The  author  is  indebted  for  the  greater  part  of  the  above  account  to  J. 
Homer  Hildreth,  Esq.,  attorney  for  the  owners  of  the  canal,  and  to  Albert 
E.  Davis,  Esq.,  former  president  of  the  North  Side  Board  of  Trade,  who 
led  the  fight  against  the  canal  to  a  successful  termination. 


Morrisania 


3/i 


Farms,  due  to  the  fact  that  Gouverneur  Morris,  Second,  and 
the  other  proprietors  had  begun  to  sell  their  lands  to  the  in- 
coming tide  of  Germans  and  others ;  but  primarily  to  the  con- 
struction of  the  Harlem  Railroad.  On  December  7,  1855, 
the  township  of  Morrisania  was  reformed,  following  practi- 
cally the  old  manor  lines.  In  1864,  the  village  of  Morrisania 
was  incorporated.  The  township  embraced  the  villages  of 
Mott  Haven,  North  New  York,  Port  Morris,  Wilton,  East 
Morrisania,  Old  (or  Central)  Morrisania,  West  Morrisania, 
Melrose,  South  Melrose,  East  Melrose,  Woodstock,  Claremont, 
Eltona,  and  Devoe's  Neck.  Several  of  these  were  named 
after  the  adjoining  estates,  thus,  Claremont  was  the  estate  of 
Martin  Zboroski. 

As  we  wander  through  Morrisania  to-day,  we  find  the  same 
network  of  solidly  built-up  streets  and  blocks  that  we  would 
find  in  Manhattan,  except  on  the  eastern  and  western  edges, 
where  we  still  find  rural  conditions.  Yet  so  convinced  are 
some  people  that  the  Borough  is  still  rural  that  they  talk  of 
living  in  the  country,  even  when  it  happens  to  be  Wendover 
Avenue,  where  there  are  more  adults  and  children — children 
especially — to  the  square  inch  than  in  almost  any  other  place 
in  the  city. 

In  the  northwest  corner  of  the  township,  there  used  to  be  a 
small  stream  south  of  Highbridge  which  was  the  dividing 
line  between  the  Turneur  patent  and  the  lands  of  Archer  and 
Morris.  It  ran  from  about  the  junction  of  Ogden  Avenue 
and  Woolf  Street  into  the  Harlem.  This  latter  street  gets 
its  name  from  the  Woolf  family,  whose  farm  was  situated 
along  the  southern  line  of  the  manor  of  Fordham.  The  an- 
cestor of  the  family  was  a  Hessian  soldier  named  Anthony 
Woolf,  who  found  this  country  so  much  to  his  liking  that  he 
remained  here  after  the  Revolution,  and  acquired  title  to  his 


372 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


farm  by  his  industry  and  frugality.  The  stream  has  long  since 
disappeared  within  a  sewer.  In  the  river  near  where  the 
stream  emptied  was  Crab,  or  "Crabbe,"  island  of  the  ancient 
deeds  and  patents.  Turneur's  land  lay  between  the  Harlem 
and  Cromwell's  Creek,  and  was  called  Nuasin  by  the  Indians, 
though  better  known  as  Devoe's  Point,  or  Neck.  The  Devoes 
were  of  Huguenot  extraction,  and  one  of  them  still  lives  in 
Highbridgeville  in  an  old  homestead  built  about  1804;  others 
of  the  name  settled  in  both  Yonkers  and  New  Rochelle. 
Ogden,  Woody  Crest,  and  Sedgwick  avenues  lead  south  over 
the  neck  to  the  junction  with  Jerome  Avenue,  which  was 
formerly  called  Central  Avenue. 

Opposite  Macomb's  Dam  Park,  on  Jerome  and  Woody 
Crest  avenues,  is  the  fine  edifice  of  the  American  Female 
Guardian  Society,  the  Home  for  the  Friendless,  with  a  bronze 
tablet  bearing  the  dates  of  1 834-1 901.  This  is  a  charitable 
organization  which  cares  for  children  committed  by  the  courts ; 
for  boys  under  ten,  and  girls  under  fourteen  years  of  age.  It 
also  provides  homes  for  its  charges  and  adopts  them  into 
private  families,  besides  conducting  industrial  schools  in 
different  parts  of  the  city. 

Along  the  river  front,  between  Central  Bridge  and  the 
elevated  railroad  bridge  at  Eighth  Avenue,  are  located  the 
boat  club-houses  of  the  rowing  associations  that  formerly 
lined  the  Harlem  shore  between  the  Third  and  Fourth  Avenue 
bridges,  but  which  were  obliged  to  move  to  this  location  on 
account  of  the  river  bulkheads  in  their  former  position.  Going 
north  over  Jerome  Avenue,  this  part  being  a  portion  of  the 
Macomb's  Dam  Road,  we  come  to  several  avenues  leading 
to  the  top  of  the  neck.  East  161st  Street  is  the  principal 
thoroughfare  leading  to  the  east  and  south;  and  by  means  of 
its  trolley  line,  we  may  reach  Franz  Sigel  Park,  the  entrance  to 


The  Cromwell  House,  near  Jerome  Avenue,  above  Central  Bridge. 


Morrisania 


373 


the  Grand  Concourse,  and  the  Lorelei,  or  Heinrich  Heine, 
fountain,  over  whose  acceptance  by  the  city  so  much  fuss  was 
made  in  1893  and  subsequent  years. 

The  statue  is  the  work  of  Professor  Ernst  Herter,  a  famous 
German  sculptor,  and  was  originally  intended  for  erection 
at  Dusseldorf,  Heine's  native  place;  but  it  was  refused  there 
on  account  of  Heine's  being  a  Jew,  and  also  on  account  of  the 
fact  that  he  had  satirized  the  ruling  houses  of  the  various 
German  states  and  principalities.  It  was  then  purchased  by 
some  of  the  citizens  of  New  York  of  German  extraction  or 
ancestry,  and  offered  to  the  city  in  1893.  Then  arose  a  bitter 
and  acrimonious  discussion,  which  lasted  for  several  years. 
The  statue  was  at  first  rejected  on  the  question  of  its  suita- 
bility and  artistic  worth ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  Heine's  nativity, 
both  as  a  Jew  and  a  German,  played  considerable  part  with 
the  opponents  of  the  monument.  The  demand  on  the  part 
of  the  monument  committee  for  its  erection  in  the  most 
prominent  place  in  New  York,  the  entrance  to  Central  Park 
at  Fifth  Avenue,  where  the  Sherman  statue  stands,  was  dis- 
regarded; and  the  fountain,  as  a  sort  of  compromise,  was 
relegated  to  the  Borough.  The  task  of  erecting  it  was  begun 
on  February  1,  1899,  and  the  unveiling  took  place  on  the  8th 
of  July  following.  Shortly  afterward,  some  vandal — actuated 
by  anti-Semitism,  anti- Germanism,  an  objection  to  the  nudity 
of  the  symbolic  female  figures,  or,  perhaps,  out  of  a  spirit  of 
viciousness — very  seriously  defaced  the  figures,  putting  the 
city  to  an  expense  of  nearly  two  thousand  dollars  to  repair 
them.  For  a  long  time  afterward,  a  police  officer  was  kept  on 
guard  night  and  day.  The  position  of  the  statue  at  the  en- 
trance to  the  Concourse  will,  in  time,  be  almost  as  prominent 
as  that  originally  asked  for  it. 

Immediately  north  of  the  Heine  monument  is  a  statue  of 


374 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Louis  J.  Heintz,  the  Commissioner  of  Street  Improvements 
to  whom  the  Concourse  is  due.  A  bronze  statue  of  Fame  is 
writing  the  name  and  deeds  of  the  commissioner  upon 
the  granite  pedestal;  but  after  looking  at  the  statue  above, 
one  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  modern  dress  does  not  lend 
itself  readily  to  artistic  expression  or  reproduction. 

Below  161st  Street  and  close  to  Jerome  Avenue  is  the  bulk- 
headed  tidal  basin  of  Cromwell's  Creek.  The  former  street 
crosses  it  on  a  causeway  through  which  a  couple  of  large  iron 
pipes  permit  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide  in  the  part  of  the 
stream  which  has  not  yet  been  filled  in. 

A  short  distance  above  165th  Street,  on  the  west  side  of 
Jerome  Avenue,  is  the  site  of  the  famous  road-house  of  a  gener- 
ation ago,  "Judge  Smith's. "  When  Central  Avenue  was  the 
great  driveway — this  was  before  the  Speedway — the  road- 
house  did  a  rushing  business.  A  standing  offer  of  the  house 
was  a  magnum  of  champagne  to  the  first  sleigh  that  came  up 
from  Macomb's  Dam  Bridge  on  its  own  runners  when  there 
was  a  snowfall  at  the  beginning  of  winter.  Almost  in  front  of 
the  road-house,  in  the  valley  of  the  brook  on  the  east  side,  is  the 
old  Cromwell  house,  a  dilapidated  structure  built  of  stone  and 
rapidly  going  to  decay.  It  was  occupied  by  market  gardeners 
for  a  long  time;  and  it  seems  to  be  the  fate  of  all  the  old  houses 
in  the  Borough  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  German  gardeners. 

Most  of  the  families  of  Cromwells  in  America  are  descended 
from  Colonel  John  Cromwell,  a  brother  of  the  Lord  Protector 
Oliver.  John  Cromwell,  son  of  the  colonel,  emigrated  first 
to  Holland,  probably  at  the  time  of  the  Restoration,  whence 
he  came  to  New  Netherland.  He  settled  at  Westchester; 
for  under  date  of  1685,  we  find  him  exchanging  six  acres  of 
meadow  land  with  Thomas  Hunt  for  eight  acres  of  upland  on 
Castle  Hill  Neck,  which,  in  consequence,  was  called  Cromwell's 


Morrisania 


375 


Neck.  The  Cromwell  family  also  became  a  prominent  one 
in  White  Plains. 

James  Cromwell,  a  descendant  of  the  first  settler  in  America, 
was  born  November  6,  1752,  and  in  his  younger  days  worked 
for  Lewis  Morris  at  Morrisania.  This  was  probably  about 
1770;  but,  as  General  Morris  had  established  a  mill  on  Crom- 
well's Creek,  or  Mentipathe,  as  the  Indians  called  it,  in  1760, 
it  is  fair  to  presume  that  the  house  was  built  for  the  use  of 
the  miller  about  the  earlier  date.  However,  that  may  be, 
the  creek  received  its  name  from  James  Cromwell  and  has 
retained  it  ever  since.  The  house  was  not  far  away  from  the 
probable  road,  or  lane,  connecting  Fordham  with  the  Mor- 
risania manor-house,  so  it  was  frequently  visited,  if  not  oc- 
cupied, by  the  British.  An  old  resident  of  the  neighborhood 
told  the  author  that  he  had  heard  his  grandfather  relate  how 
the  occupants  of  the  house  used  to  fire  from  its  windows  at 
the  flocks  of  wild  geese  flying  overhead.  James  Cromwell 
lived  here  for  several  years,  and,  after  the  Revolution,  went 
into  the  grocery  business  in  New  York,  moving  later  to  Orange 
County,  where  he  died. 

The  central  part  of  the  town  was  occupied  by  a  number 
of  mansions  and  estates,  few  of  which  remain ;  if  so,  the  houses 
have  been  converted  to  such  base  uses  as  to  be  unrecognizable. 
The  Morrisania  town-hall  was  located  at  Third  Avenue  and 
160th  Street.  Here  was  transacted  the  business  of  the  four 
wards  into  which  the  town  was  divided.  The  old  town-hall 
was  used  as  a  police  station-house  for  a  long  time  after  annex- 
ation until  replaced  by  the  present  structure  occupied  since 
November  21,  1905.  A  block  above  at,  161st  Street,  there  is 
in  course  of  construction  a  fine  stone  court-house.  We  may 
say  with  the  ancient  chroniclers,  that  the  memory  of  man 
runneth  not  to  the  contrary  as  to  when  it  was  not  in  course  of 


376  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


construction;  and  at  the  rate  at  which  it  is  progressing,  the 
historian  of  a  century  hence  may  repeat  the  above  statement 
and  still  be  correct.  In  proportion,  its  cost  will  probably 
equal  that  of  the  Capitol  building  of  the  State  at  Albany. 
Perhaps  it  will  be  completed  about  the  same  time  as  the  new 
county  court-house  in  Manhattan,  if  ever. 

Lucy  Randall  Comfort,  a  well-known  writer  of  children's 
stories,  a  generation  or  more  ago,  lived  on  Franklin  Avenue, 
one  of  the  oldest  streets  in  Morrisania.  Henry  B.  Dawson, 
the  historian,  formerly  lived  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town; 
he  has  the  posthumous  honor  of  having  a  street  named  after 
him.  Dawson  was  a  wonderful  man  at  research;  and  his 
statements,  based  upon  his  authorities,  which  he  nearly  always 
gave,  were  very  frequently  opposed  to  the  traditional  ideas 
of  matter  and  things;  and,  in  consequence,  he  was  often  en- 
gaged in  controversial  correspondence  with  others,  in  which 
he  seldom  came  out  second  best.  His  accuracy  was  recognized 
and  appreciated,  and  so  most  of  his  statements  are  accepted 
without  further  confirmation.  He  was  the  author  of  many 
historical  works;  and,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Valentine,  he 
contributed  the  historical  matter  for  the  Manual  of  the  Common 
Council.  George  H.  Bristow  and  Francis  H.  Nash,  both 
musicians  and  composers,  were  also  residents  of  Morrisania. 
Among  the  very  earliest  recollections  I  have  are  the  Sunday 
visits  of  the  former  to  Mount  Vernon,  to  visit  his  friends, 
the  Aylyffe  brothers,  both  of  whom  were  musicians,  and  one 
of  whom,  James,  was  the  ringer  of  Trinity's  chimes  for  a  great 
many  years. 

Another  resident  of  the  Borough  at  one  time  was  the  Hon. 
Peter  H.  Wendover,  after  whom  was  named  the  avenue  con- 
necting Claremont  and  Crotona  parks.  While  a  member  of 
Congress,  he  introduced  a  bill  to  regulate  the  shape  and  design 


Morrisania 


377 


of  the  national  flag,  which,  under  the  old  additions  of  a  star 
and  a  stripe  for  each  new  State,  was  becoming  of  very  awkward 
shape.  The  law  stated  that,  after  July  4,  18 18,  the  flag 
should  contain  twenty  stars  for  the  number  of  States  then  form- 
ing the  Union  and  thirteen  stripes,  alternate  white  and  red, 
and  that,  upon  the  admission  of  a  new  State,  the  constellation 
should  be  increased  by  one  star  on  July  Fourth  following 
such  admission,  so  that  the  stripes  would  show  the  original 
thirteen  States  and  the  number  of  stars  the  number  of  States 
then  in  the  Union.  Congressman  Wendover,  then,  may  be 
said  to  be  the  father  of  the  present  flag. 

Crotona  Park,  containing  the  Borough  Hall  for  the  offices  of 
the  Borough  government,  lies  near  the  upper  end  of  the  town- 
ship ;  the  park  was  taken  from  both  Morrisania  and  West  Farms. 
Just  beyond,  in  Tremont,  the  unfortunate  Charlotte  Temple 
is  said  to  have  lived ;  but  she  seems  to  have  had  as  many  stop- 
ping places  as  Washington  or  a  modern  flat  dweller,  as  the 
chroniclers  of  Manhattan  give  quite  a  list  of  her  various  homes. 

It  was  the  original  intention  of  the  "New"  Parks  Com- 
mission of  1883-84  to  have  named  the  park  Bathgate  Park 
after  the  family  from  whom  the  property  was  obtained.  It 
seems  that  the  Bathgates  had  some  dispute  with  the  Com- 
mission's engineer,  and  he  determined  not  to  perpetuate  the 
name  of  the  family  in  the  new  park ;  he  therefore  manufac- 
tured the  name  of  Crotona  from  Croton.  The  ancient  and 
classical  Crotona — the  home  of  the  philosopher  Pythagoras — 
was  a  Greek  colony  located  in  Southern  Italy,  whose  athletes 
were  famous  throughout  the  Grecian  world,  and  who  were 
many  times  victors  at  the  Olympic  Games.  In  view  of  the 
amount  of  space  in  the  park  given  up  to  tennis-courts,  base- 
ball, and  athletic  fields,  the  name  of  Crotona  appears  to  be 
particularly  applicable. 


378 


The  Story  of  the  Bronx 


The  Southern  Boulevard,  laid  out  during  the  Tweed  regime, 
extends  from  Port  Morris  to  Bronx  Park  at  181st  Street. 
It  was  lined  with  trees  at  first,  but  these  have  been  sadly 
neglected,  so  that  most  of  them  have  died.  The  lower  part  is 
given  over  to  factories,  the  middle  part,  as  far  as  Westchester 
Avenue,  still  has  more  vacant  lots  than  occupied  ones;  but 
the  section  above  Westchester  Avenue  is  building  up  very 
rapidly.  This  is  due  to  the  elevated  portion  of  the  subway, 
which  passes  through  the  Boulevard. 

Port  Morris  was  practically  an  island  at  high  tide  in  the 
olden  days.  Gouverneur  Morris,  Second,  built  a  causeway 
across  the  meadows,  about  on  the  line  of  138th  Street,  so  that 
people  and  horses  could  pass  over  dry  shod.  This  was  in  the 
fifties  of  the  last  century;  and  it  is  said  he  did  this  principally 
to  give  employment  to  some  of  the  poor  and  distressed  people 
of  the  neighborhood,  so  that  it  was  a  case  of  practical  charity. 

During  the  Revolution,  the  British  frigate  Hussar  went 
down  off  Port  Morris,  then  called  Stony  Island.  She  was 
laden  with  American  prisoners  and  treasure,  the  latter,  so 
tradition  says,  the  pay  of  the  British  army  in  New  York. 
Many  companies  have  been  formed  to  get  the  sunken  treasure, 
but  more  money  has  been  sunk  in  these  enterprises  than  has 
been,  or  ever  will  be,  recovered.  Divers  have  brought  to  the 
surface  bits  of  the  old  hull,  which  are  easily  gotten,  as  the 
iron  work  has  all  rusted  away,  a  few  coins,  and  various  inter- 
esting relics  in  the  way  of  chain-shot,  bullets,  pieces  of  copper, 
etc.;  but  the  treasure,  if  there  be  any,  has  thus  far  escaped 
them. 

Lincoln  Hospital  lies  near  the  Southern  Boulevard  at  141st 
Street.  Wilton  was  a  small  village  to  the  west  of  this  section 
and  was,  in  the  sixties,  a  favorite  place  of  residence  for  actors, 
of  whom  there  was  quite  a  settlement. 


Morrisania 


379 


On  June  15,  1904,  the  excursion  steamer,  General  Slocum, 
took  on  board  about  two  thousand  passengers  from  the  German 
Lutheran  churches  of  the  east  side  of  Manhattan  for  a  trip 
up  the  Sound  to  a  picnic  ground  on  Long  Island.  While 
passing  through  Hell  Gate  in  the  East  River,  the  steamer  took 
fire;  but  her  captain,  instead  of  attempting  to  land  at  once, 
headed  her  up  the  river  and  beached  her  on  North  Brother 
Island,  off  Port  Morris.  The  vessel  was  inadequately  pro- 
vided with  life  preservers,  so  that  many  of  those  who  sprang 
into  the  water  to  escape  the  flames  were  drowned.  Notwith- 
standing the  heroic  effort  of  many  people  who  at  once  went 
to  the  rescue,  at  least  one  thousand  of  the  passengers,  con- 
sisting of  men,  women,  and  children,  were  either  drowned  or 
burnt  to  death.  The  exact  number  has  never  been  definitely 
fixed ;  but  the  disaster  occasioned  a  greater  loss  of  life  than  any 
other  accident  that  has  occurred  during  the  whole  history  of 
the  city. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


WEST  FARMS 

THE  original  patent  of  West  Farms  comprised  the  terri- 
tory between  the  Fordham  line  on  the  north,  the 
Bronx  River  on  the  east,  the  Sound  on  the  south, 
and  Bungay  Creek  and  Morrisania  on  the  west.  Its  earlier 
history  is  given  elsewhere.  In  1846,  it  was  made  into  a 
township,  being  formed  from  Westchester  and  including 
Morrisania  and  Fordham.  Morrisania  was  taken  from  West 
Farms  in  1856  and  formed  into  a  separate  township. 

The  intersection  of  Westchester  Avenue  and  the  Southern 
Boulevard  was  called  Fox's  Corners,  and  it  is  still  locally 
known  as  such.  It  received  its  name  from  William  Fox,  a 
wealthy  Quaker  merchant  of  New  York,  who  married  into  the 
Leggett  family  and  thus  became  possessed  of  the  property, 
some  of  which  is  still  owned  by  his  descendants,  the  Tiffany 
family.  To  the  east  of  the  Corners,  the  late  Colonel  Richard 
M.  Hoe,  the  inventor  of  the  rotary  printing-press,  had  a 
magnificent  country  place,  which  he  called  Brightside.  The 
locality  is  at  present  in  a  transition  state;  for,  though  there 
are  a  great  many  apartments  and  flats,  there  are  still  more 
vacant  lots.  The  old  estates  have  been  cut  up,  and  very  few 
of  the  elegant  mansions  of  the  middle  of  the  last  century  re- 
main to  show  us  how  the  well-to-do  merchants  of  that  epoch 
used  to  live. 

South  of  the  Corners,  the  Hunt's  Point  road  leads  down  to 

the  East  River.    The  point  was  a  part  of  the  West  Farms 

patent  of  1668,  and  received  its  name  from  Thomas  Hunt, 

380 


West  Farms 


381 


a  son-in-law  of  Edward  Jessup.  The  Indian  name  of  the  neck 
was  Quinnahung;  and  it  is  also  spoken  of  in  the  early  deeds  and 
grants  as  the  "Great  planting  field,  or  neck."  It  lies  between 
the  Bronx  River  and  the  Sackwrahung  Creek,  which  Lewis 
Morris  says  in  a  deed  of  1740  to  his  father-in-law,  James 
Graham,  is  falsely  so  called  but  which  should  be  called  Wig- 
wam Brook.  But  we  should  bear  in  mind  that  there  was  a 
strip  of  land  here,  called  the  "debatable  land,"  in  dispute 
between  Morris  and  the  heirs  of  the  West  Farms  patentees, 
and  that  Morris  would  naturally  not  admit  the  slightest  thing 
that  would  be  of  advantage  to  his  adversaries.  The  more 
westerly  portion  of  the  "  Planting  neck  "  came  into  possession 
of  Gabriel  Leggett  in  1679,  through  his  wife  Elizabeth,  a 
daughter  of  John  Richardson,  one  of  the  original  patentees; 
this  is  the  part  now  known  as  Barretto's  Point.  Thomas 
Hunt  and  John  Richardson  both  had  houses  on  the  point; 
for  in  a  contract  between  them  of  August  12,  1669,  for  the 
division  of  the  come  field  neck,  the  houses  are  mentioned. 

A  trolley  line,  inaugurated  in  the  spring  of  191 1,  now  runs 
down  Hunt's  Point  Avenue,  almost  to  the  end  of  the  neck, 
which  it  will  reach  in  time.  As  late  as  1906,  the  point  retained 
its  rural  character,  with  several  houses  of  two  generations  ago 
still  standing.  The  most  prominent  was  the  Spofford  place 
with  its  beautifully  kept  grounds ;  but  most  of  these  old  man- 
sions have  disappeared  or  are  poorly  kept  up.  The  part  of  the 
neck  near  the  Southern  Boulevard  is  fairly  well  built  up;  and 
further  operations  will  be  started  when  necessary.  The  city 
has  a  site  for  a  school-house  to  accommodate  the  children  of 
the  point ;  it  is  now  occupied  by  a  portable  building,  but  a  fine 
edifice  will  be  erected  in  the  near  future.  Beyond  Lafayette 
Avenue,  the  neck  still  remains  a  meadow  land,  though  some 
of  the  streets  are  laid  out  and  are  being  graded. 


382  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 

Not  far  from  the  end  of  the  neck,  we  see  a  heavily  wooded 
knoll  with  several  white  monuments  gleaming  through  the 
foliage.  This  is  the  ancient  burial  place  of  the  Hunt,  Leggett, 
and  Willett  families,  now  preserved  as  a  public  park  under  the 
name  of  Rodman  Drake  Park.  It  is  stated  that  George 
Tippett,  or  Tibbett,  the  purchaser,  with  William  Betts,  of  the 
Betts  and  Tippett  tract  of  the  old  patroonship  of  Adrien  Van 
der  Donck,  is  also  buried  here. 

While  we  may  be  interested  in  deciphering  some  of  the  more 
ancient  and  crumbling  tombstones,  our  particular  interest 
lies  in  the  white  marble  monument  nearest  the  roadway, 
under  which  are  the  mortal  remains  of  the  poet  of  The  Bronx 
and  of  The  American  Flag, — Joseph  Rodman  Drake.  An 
iron  fence  is  supposed  to  keep  off  vandals,  but  the  chipped 
condition  of  the  stone  shows  that  the  iconoclast  has  not  been 
deterred  from  following  his  favorite  pursuit,  a  pursuit  that 
should  shame  a  savage.  The  monument  bears  the  following 
inscription: 

"sacred 
to  the  Memory 
of 

JOSEPH  R.  DRAKE,  M.D. 

who  died  Sept.  21st 
1820 
Aged  25  Years 
None  knew  him  but  to  love  him, 
Nor  named  him  but  to  praise. 

RENOVATED  BY  THE 
BROWNSON  LITERARY  UNION 

July  25,  1891."1 

'  The  Brownson  Literary  Union  was  organized  as  a  debating  society  in 
1888;  it  resolved  itself  into  the  Brownson  Catholic  Club  in  1894. 


The  Grave  of  Joseph  Rodman  Drake,  Hunt's  Point. 


The  Hunt  House  (1688),  or  the  "  Grange,"  the  Residence  of  Joseph  Rodman  Drake, 

Hunt's  Point. 


West  Farms 


383 


Joseph  Rodman  Drake  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
August  7,  1795.  He  studied  medicine  and  became  a  physician. 
He  married  Sarah  Eckford,  the  daughter  of  a  wealthy  merchant, 
which  marriage  placed  him  in  easy  circumstances.  The 
young  couple  made  a  journey  to  Europe;  but  soon  afterward, 
Drake's  health  began  to  fail;  and,  after  spending  the  winter 
of  1 8 19  in  New  Orleans  in  the  vain  hope  of  benefit,  he  returned 
to  New  York,  where  he  died  of  consumption  in  1820,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-five,  leaving  one  child,  a  daughter.  He  was  of 
Westchester  County  extraction,  the  names  of  Rodman  and 
Drake  being  those  of  settlers  prominent  in  Colonial  days.  His 
favorite  residence  was  at  Hunt's  Point,  where  he  occupied  the 
"Grange,"  a  rambling  and  picturesque  old  structure,  whose 
oldest  portion  dates  from  1688  (perhaps  from  1669),  when 
Thomas  Hunt  received  one  hundred  acres  from  his  father 
Thomas,  who  had  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  and  heiress 
of  Edward  Jessup.  The  Bronx  River  constitutes  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  point,  and  it  was  along  its  banks  that  Drake 
used  to  stroll  and  find  inspiration  for  his  poetic  genius. 

That  he  did  possess  the  true  fire  of  poetic  genius,  his  few 
poems  undoubtedly  show.  Even  as  a  boy,  he  wrote  poetry. 
The  most  famous  of  his  poems,  other  than  The  American  Flag, 
is  The  Culprit  Fay.  It  is  stated  that  this  poem  was  written 
within  three  days  to  refute  an  assertion  made  by  his  friends, 
James  Fenimore  Cooper  and  Fitz-Greene  Halleck,  that  the 
rivers  of  America  furnished  no  such  romantic  associations  as 
those  of  Scotland,  and  that  no  story  dealing  with  fairies  could 
be  entertaining  without  introducing  a  human  being  to  arouse 
the  interest  of  the  reader.  The  poem  is  dainty  and  exquisite, 
and  shows  Drake's  appreciation  of  the  small  beauties  of  nature, 
which,  in  these  days,  we  pride  ourselves  in  discovering  under 
the  high-sounding  title  of  "Nature  Study,"  just  as  if  no  one 


384  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


had  ever  done  anything  of  the  kind  before.  Though  the 
scene  of  the  poem  is  laid  in  the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson, 
its  chief  associations  are  with  the  salt  water,  "the  poet  drawing 
his  inspiration  from  his  familiar  haunt  on  the  Sound,  at  Hunt's 
Point." 

The  best  known  of  his  poems  is  The  American  Flag;  and 
this  alone  would  have  made  him  famous.  The  verses  are 
magnificent  in  their  glowing  patriotism  and  glory  in  the  flag. 

Drake's  most  intimate  friend  was  Fitz-Greene  Halleck, 
whose  whole  life  was  affected  by  the  early  death  of  his  gifted 
friend.  The  first  stanza  of  Halleck's  poem  on  the  death  of 
Drake  is  exquisite,  and  from  it  are  taken  the  two  lines  placed 
upon  the  tomb,  though  thee  is  changed  to  him. 

"Green  be  the  turf  above  thee, 
Friend  of  my  better  days; 
None  knew  thee  but  to  love  thee, 
Nor  named  thee  but  to  praise." 

Many  years  after  Drake's  death,  Halleck  visited  the  grave 
of  his  colleague  in  the  Croaker  Papers  with  General  James 
Grant  Wilson;  to  whom  he  remarked  that  his  dearest  wish 
was  to  be  laid  by  the  side  of  his  friend  when  it  came  his  turn 
to  die,  and  that  if  it  ever  became  necessary  to  remove  Drake's 
body,  it  should  be  laid  beside  his.  Halleck  died  in  1867  and 
was  buried  at  Guilford,  Connecticut.  The  plan  of  street 
improvements  of  1903  took  no  cognizance  of  the  ancient 
cemetery  and  proposed  to  cut  two  streets  through  it.  In 
view  of  this  fact,  in  September  of  that  year,  a  number  of  gentle- 
men proposed  to  exhume  the  body  of  Drake  and  reinter  it  by 
the  side  of  Halleck  in  accordance  with  the  expressed  wish  of 
the  latter.  The  scheme  met  with  strong  opposition  from  the 
North  Side  Board  of  Trade  and  the  literary  societies  of  the 


West  Farms 


385 


Borough;  and  their  exertions  resulted  in  the  alteration  in  the 
lines  of  the  proposed  streets  near  the  grave,  and  the  formation 
there  of  a  public  park.  This  is  eminently  proper;  as  Drake 
was  born  in  New  York  and  lived  and  died  here,  and  his  body- 
should  continue  to  lie  near  the  Bronx,  which  he  so  dearly  loved. 

At  the  end  of  the  point,  there  is  under  construction  some 
fourteen  hundred  feet  of  docks.  Near  the  south  end  of  the 
point,  we  come  across  an  old,  weather-beaten  and  dilapidated 
building,  the  Hunt  mansion,  or  "Grange,"  in  which  Drake 
used  to  live.  At  the  end  of  the  building  is  an  octagonal  tower 
which  serves  as  a  beacon  to  the  pilots  on  the  East  River  and 
has  thus  gained  for  the  old  mansion  the  name  of  the  "Pilot 
House."  The  old  homestead  and  farm  have  been  occupied 
for  many  years  by  German  market  gardeners  who  rented  them 
from  a  land  company  that  owned  this  portion  of  the  neck. 
The  original  part  of  the  house  was  of  stone  with  a  great  stone 
chimney  and  Dutch  doors.  The  havoc  of  the  winter  snows 
and  summer  rains  has  wrecked  the  old  place  and  brought  it 
in  these  last  years  to  a  melancholy  state  of  dilapidation. 
Before  us  is  the  mouth  of  the  Bronx  River,  wTith  the  low  shores 
of  Cornell's  Neck  on  the  opposite  side,  and  beyond  that  over 
the  East  River,  the  high  hills  of  Long  Island ;  to  the  southward 
lie  Leggett's  Point,  Port  Morris,  the  Brother  Islands  and 
Riker's  Island.  The  waters  of  the  river  and  the  passing  vessels 
constitute  an  enchanting  picture  which  fully  accounts  for 
Drake's  fondness  for  the  place  as  a  residence. 

Retracing  our  steps  to  beyond  the  ancient  cemetery,  we  take 
a  road  to  the  left  and  visit  Barretto's  Point.  This  received 
its  name  from  Francis  Barretto,  a  merchant  of  New  York, 
who  settled  here  many  years  ago,  and  who  represented  West- 
chester County  in  the  Assembly  for  several  terms.  The  point 
was  called  Waddington's  Point  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Barretto's 
25 


386  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


purchase.  The  large  stone  mansion  and  the  estate  of  Mr.  Bar- 
retto  were  called  "  Blythe  Place  " ;  the  mansion  was  burned  down 
years  ago,  and  the  remains  of  the  house  have  been  removed 
until  the  top  of  the  foundations  is  even  with  the  ground.  A 
mansion  belonging  to  another  member  of  the  family  still  stands 
and  is  occupied  by  a  German  truck  farmer.  On  the  neck  there 
is  located  the  old  burying-ground  of  the  slaves  belonging  to 
the  Hunt  and  Leggett  families,  and  also  an  old  oak  upon 
which,  according  to  tradition,  the  British  used  to  hang  the 
Whig  foragers  and  spies  who  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  fall 
into  their  hands.  Lafayette  Avenue  leads  toward  the  south- 
west to  Morrisania,  and  commemorates  the  fact,  so  it  is  said, 
that  General  Lafayette  passed  over  the  lane  on  his  way  to 
Boston  when  he  visited  the  United  States  in  1824.  In  a  deed 
of  May  3,  1804,  mention  is  made  of  "Bocket's  cot,  or  landing 
place,"  on  Barretto's  Point,  and  it  is  also  mentioned  in  later 
deeds.    It  is  supposed  the  term  "cot"  used  here  means  cove. 

In  December,  1908,  the  American  Bank  Note  Company 
obtained  a  block  at  the  entrance  of  Barretto's  Point  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  their  shops  and  factories ;  these  were  com- 
pleted in  191 1,  and  give  employment  to  over  two  thousand 
persons.  For  several  years  before  this  date,  the  most  promin- 
ent building  in  the  locality  was  the  Monastery  of  Corpus 
Christi,  established  in  1889,  and  maintained  principally  by 
John  D.  Crimmins,  Esq.,  as  a  memorial  to  his  wife. 

Between  Barretto's  Point  and  Port  Morris  is  Oak  Point, 
until  1905  a  pleasure  resort  for  the  residents  of  the  Borough 
who  liked  the  kind  of  pleasure  to  be  obtained  here.  It  is  now 
used  by  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  Railroad 
for  freight  purposes.  It  was  formerly  known  as  Leggett 's 
Point,  it  being  within  the  debatable  land  already  referred  to. 
The  old  tree-lined  lane  which  used  to  lead  to  the  point  has 


West  Farms 


387 


disappeared,  and  its  place  has  been  taken  by  Leggett  Avenue, 
a  very  important  thoroughfare  for  trucking  purposes. 

In  colonial  days,  the  point  was  called  JearTerd's  Neck;  and 
it  was  in  the  house  of  Alderman  Leggett  on  this  neck  that 
Major  Baremore  was  captured  by  De  Armond.  Later,  the 
house  was  occupied  by  Colonel  Fowler,  and  it  was  destroyed 
by  fire  upon  the  occasion  of  a  dinner-party  given  by  the  British 
officer  to  the  loyalists  of  the  vicinity.  Leggett's  house  occu- 
pied the  site  of  the  Graham  house.  The  property  between 
Bound  and  Wigwam  brooks  was  granted  by  Judge  Morris  to 
his  father-in-law,  James  Graham,  Attorney- General  of  the 
Province,  on  April  2,  1740;  Mr.  Graham  died  here  in  his  house 
on  Jeafferd's  Neck,  in  1767.  By  his  will,  dated  March  13, 
1767,  the  property  was  left  to  his  wife  during  the  term  of  her 
natural  life,  after  which  it  was  to  be  sold  by  his  executors  for 
the  benefit  of  his  children.  It  was  so  sold  later,  and  it  has 
passed  through  the  hands  of  many  owners  from  that  time  to 
the  present,  being  divided  up  among  several  owners.  Thus, 
Joshua  Waddington  owned  part  of  it  from  1808  to  1828;  and 
the  same  land  constituted  a  trust  for  many  years  for  Anna 
Maria  Julia  Coster,  the  wife  of  Francis  Barretto;  another 
part,  including  the  point,  came  back  into  the  possession  of 
William  H.  Leggett  under  deeds  of  February  8,  1830,  and  April 
1,  1 83 1.  The  Leggett  family  retained  possession  of  the  prop- 
erty, which  was  called  "Rose  Bank,"  until  near  the  middle 
of  the  last  century,  when  it  was  bought  by  Benjamin  Whitlock, 
a  wealthy  grocer  of  New  York,  who  was  also  interested  in  the 
cotton  business.  The  old  Leggett  mansion  was  completely 
renovated,  a  prominent  feature  being  the  subterranean  vaults 
and  cellars  for  the  storage  of  wine.  It  is  said  that  the  house 
was  almost  rebuilt  of  stone  imported  from  Caen,  France.  In 
the  days  before  the  Civil  War,  the  mansion  was  the  scene  of  a 


388  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


lavish  hospitality;  and  the  generation  of  bon  vivants  just 
passed  away  were  frequent  guests  at  its  generous  board.  With 
the  Civil  War  and  the  downfall  of  slavery,  cotton  ceased  to 
be  king,  and  the  place  was  closed  by  its  impoverished  owner, 
and  given  over  to  nature.  The  dilapidated  appearance  of 
the  house,  and  the  tangled  masses  of  weeds  in  the  extensive 
grounds  which  had  been  planted  with  fine  trees  and  plants  of 
all  kinds  and  lavishly  cared  for,  gained  for  it  the  name  of 
"Whitlock's  Folly." 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Whitlock,  it  was  transferred  by  deed 
from  his  widow  to  Innocencio  Casanova,  a  Cuban  patriot, 
under  date  of  November  I,  1867,  for  a  consideration  of 
$150,000.  The  first  struggle  for  Cuban  independence  was 
then  in  progress,  and  the  house  became  a  rendezvous  for  the 
supporters  of  "Cuba  Libre.,,  It  is  stated  that  its  great  cel- 
lars became  storehouses  for  powder,  rifles,  and  other  munitions 
of  war,  which  were  smuggled  aboard  the  vessels  which  stole 
in  and  out  of  the  creeks  contiguous  to  the  house,  and  which 
sailed  away  on  secret,  filibustering  expeditions  to  the  "Ever 
Faithful  Isle."  It  is  also  said  that  the  ill-fated  Virginia s 
took  on  board  her  unfortunate  crew  here.  With  the  downfall 
of  the  rebellion,  the  visits  of  the  dark-skinned,  mysterious- 
looking  men  ceased,  and  the  house  was  deserted ;  while  whispers 
of  murdered  Spanish  spies  and  of  ghosts  and  strange  and  un- 
accountable noises  in  the  vacant  house  filled  the  neighborhood. 

On  October  2,  1885,  the  property  came  into  the  hands  of  a 
Mr.  Cheseborough,  and  three  years  later,  into  those  of  Fred- 
erick Beck,  the  consideration  being  $200,000.  It  then  went 
into  the  hands  of  an  agent  of  the  East  Bay  Land  and  Improve- 
ment Company,  May  10,  1890.  The  same  company  acquired 
in  that  year  314  acres  of  land,  including  Hunt's  and  Barretto's 
points  and  other  land  in  the  vicinity.    It  is  interesting  to 


West  Farms 


389 


know  that  in  a  suit  brought  by  the  city  of  New  York  for  the 
water  rights  of  all  this  property,  the  company  won  its  case 
upon  the  old  Indian  deeds  and  the  ancient  patents  and  grants 
of  the  early  colonial  days  to  the  original  white  owners.  The 
Whitlock,  or  Casanova,  house  was,  in  1904,  an  enormous 
square,  barn-like  building,  visible  from  all  directions,  as  it 
stood  upon  an  elevation  and  no  trees  obstructed  the  view. 
So  many  weird  tales  were  told  about  the  old  mansion  that  its 
demolition  was  watched  with  intense  interest.  Its  site  is  now 
occupied  by  a  large  piano  factory,  and  part  of  the  grounds 
has  become  the  property  of  the  railroad.  The  name  of  Casa- 
nova is  perpetuated  in  the  near-by  station  of  the  Suburban 
branch  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  Railroad. 

The  former  village  of  West  Farms  is  situated  about  three 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Bronx  River,  to  which  point  the 
tide  rises  and  falls.  It  is  believed  that  Jonas  Bronk  established 
mills  here,  and  it  is  known  that  the  patentees  of  the  West 
Farms  did  have  mills  here,  for  they  are  mentioned  in  ancient 
documents.  As  stated  in  a  former  chapter,  the  property  came 
into  the  possession  of  the  De  Lancey  family,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, was  known  as  De  Lancey's  Mills  for  many  generations. 
The  site  of  the  ancient  mills  is  now  within  the  limits  of  Bronx 
Park,  at  the  old  Kingsbridge  Road.  About  1825,  the  property 
was  bought  by  Mr.  David  Lydig  for  a  summer  residence  and 
he  occupied  the  De  Lancey  house  on  the  east  side  of  the  stream. 
The  house  was  afterward  burned.  Mr.  Lydig  was  a  practical 
miller  from  the  valley  of  the  Genesee,  and  he  continued  to 
operate  the  mills  and  greatly  enlarged  them.  There  is  nothing 
left  of  them  now  except  the  dam  and  the  foundations  of  the 
mills.  Several  coloring  mills  line  the  stream  between  the 
bridge  at  East  180th  Street  and  that  at  177th  Street,  or  Walker 
Avenue.    Below  the  latter  bridge  are  the  extensive  buildings 


390  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


of  The  Bronx  Company,  engaged  in  printing,  dyeing,  and 
bleaching  cloths. 

West  Farms,  though  rapidly  assuming  a  modern  appearance, 
is  well  worth  a  visit.  Some  of  the  houses  are  built  of  stone, 
and,  while  not  ancient,  give  a  quaint  air  of  substantial  respect- 
ability, comfort  and  easy  means  financially,  and  of  a  brisk 
and  active  rural  life.  That  this  condition  will  last  much  longer 
is  not  doubtful,  for  the  old  cottages,  both  stone  and  wood, 
are  disappearing,  and  streets  and  avenues  are  being  built 
up  in  all  directions. 

The  mansion  of  the  De  Lanceys  was  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Bronx,  and  therefore  in  Westchester;  but  their  name  is  in- 
dissolubly  connected  with  the  settlement  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river.  It  must  have  been  a  great  sight  in  colonial  days 
to  have  seen  the  De  Lancey  coach,  with  its  four  horses  and 
outriders,  convey  the  family  to  church  at  St.  Peter's.  What 
a  cracking  of  whips,  scattering  of  slaves  and  dogs,  as  the  heavy 
lumbering  vehicle  went  creaking,  groaning,  and  tossing  over 
the  rough  road  to  Westchester !  And  what  a  time  there  must 
have  been  in  the  mansion,  in  1775,  after  days  of  preparation, 
when  the  discontent  of  the  colonists  was  ceasing  to  be  a  murmur 
and  was  becoming  a  roar,  when  two  daughters  of  the  house 
were  wedded  on  the  same  day !  These  were  Jane,  who  married 
her  cousin,  John  Watts,  a  graduate  of  King's  College  (1766), 
and  son  of  John  Watts,  one  of  Governor  Tryon's  councillors, 
and  her  younger  sister  who  married  Thomas,  the  son  of  the 
Reverend  Dr.  Barclay.  The  invited  guests  drove  out  from 
the  city  in  old-time  coaches  and  chaises,  not  a  few  performing 
the  journey  on  horseback.  Such  a  t;ay  and  brilliant  assembly 
of  all  the  best  people  of  the  Province  had  not  met  since  the 
marriage,  eight  years  before,  of  the  eldest  sister  of  the  brides, 
Alice,  to  the  famous  Ralph  Izard  of  South  Carolina. 


West  Farms 


39i 


Then  came  the  troublous  times  of  the  Revolution,  and  the 
loyalty  of  the  majority  of  the  De  Lanceys  to  the  crown  made 
them  the  objects  of  particular  attack  on  the  part  of  the  Whigs. 
James,  the  son  of  "Peter  of  the  Mills,"  and  commander  of 
the  Westchester  Light  Horse,  did  his  duty  faithfully,  as  he 
saw  it,  to  his  king;  and,  as  a  result,  lost  his  estates  by  confis- 
cation. It  is  strange  that  his  brother  John,  who  also  fought 
on  the  side  of  King  George,  should  have  been  unmolested  in  the 
possession  of  his  property.  It  does  not  seem  that  the  De 
Lanceys  lost  any  sense  of  their  own  importance  or  were  much 
overawed  by  those  who  carried  the  king's  commission;  for  it 
is  related  that  upon  one  occasion  two  of  the  younger  members 
of  the  family,  James  and  his  brother  Oliver,  had  a  quarrel 
with  Emmerick,  whom  they  insulted  and  struck.  Though 
both  were  private  gentlemen,  they  were  tried  by  court-martial 
and  condemned  to  two  months'  imprisonment,  as  well  as  to 
make  a  public  apology  to  Emmerick  at  the  head  of  his  troops 
at  Kingsbridge. 

After  the  Revolution,  one  of  the  three  stores  in  this  section 
was  located  at  West  Farms  and  was  conducted  by  Daniel 
Mapes.  After  the  construction  of  Coles's  Boston  road,  the 
village  became  the  most  important  place  between  New  York 
and  New  Rochelle,  as  the  road  passes  through  the  village. 
When  the  first  extension  of  the  surface-car  service  was  made, 
it  was  to  West  Farms.  The  country  around  about  was  devoted 
to  farming,  but,  later,  many  handsome  estates  were  owned  by 
wealthy  New  York  gentlemen  and  merchants.  A  few  of  these 
still  remain,  but  nearly  all  have  been  cut  up  into  lots  and 
streets  and  are  being  rapidly  built  upon,  as  communication  is 
becoming  easier  and  more  rapid.  This  change  has  been  more 
marked  since  the  completion  of  the  subway,  which  has  its 
northerly  terminal  here;  there  are  also  numerous  trolley  lines 


392  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


going  to  all  parts  of  the  Borough  and  to  Mt.  Vernon  and  New 
Rochelle.  It  is  amusing  to  see  the  crowds  alight  from  the 
trolley  cars  and  rush  for  the  subway  as  if  their  very  lives  de- 
pended on  their  not  missing  a  second.  In  the  cars,  they 
usually  begin  to  get  up  from  their  seats  and  crowd  the  aisles 
a  half  mile  from  the  terminal.  What  is  the  cause  of  this? 
Is  it  a  national  characteristic  of  wanting  to  get  ahead  of 
somebody  else,  or  is  it  a  childish  trait  showing  fear  of  not 
getting  to  a  place  on  time? 

The  West  Farms  Soldiers'  Monument,  the  only  one  in  the 
Borough,  was  erected,  by  the  subscriptions  of  a  few  patriotic 
citizens,  in  the  West  Farms  Cemetery,  adjoining  the  graveyard 
of  the  old  Presbyterian  Church.  A  Mrs.  Cunningham,  the 
widow  of  a  soldier,  was  the  first  to  draw  attention  to  the  neg- 
lected and  desecrated  graves  of  a  number  of  soldiers  who 
were  buried  here.  She  was  passing  the  graveyard  when  the 
street  was  being  widened  and  saw  a  number  of  bones  thrown 
into  a  cart  by  the  laborers.  An  examination  of  one  of  the  grass- 
covered  and  decrepit  tombstones  showed  that  it  was  over  the 
grave  of  "William  J.  Rasberry,  Captain  Co.  C,  6th  Heavy 
Artillery,  killed  Oct.  19,  1864,  at  Cedar  Creek,  while  leading 
his  men  up  the  hill."  Other  graves  were  found,  and  the 
matter  of  erecting  a  suitable  monument  was  taken  up  by  a 
committee  of  which  Captain  Charles  Baxter  was  chairman. 
The  monument  was  erected  in  the  fall  of  1909,  and  was 
dedicated  with  appropriate  ceremonies  May  29,  19 10.  The 
remains  of  eleven  soldiers,  two  of  them  of  the  War  of  18 12, 
are  within  the  plot  near  the  monument.  Three  brass  howit- 
zers are  used  for  ornamental  purposes,  and  a  flag  is  kept 
flying  from  the  staff  erected  for  the  purpose. 

During  the  Civil  War,  the  same  diversity  of  opinion  pre- 
vailed throughout  the  Borough  as  in  all  sections  of  the  country, 


The  Soldiers'  Monument  at  West  Farms. 


West  Farms 


393 


and  especially  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Some  volunteered 
for  the  defence  of  the  Union,  some  remained  passive,  and 
others  were  "  Copperheads  "  of  the  usual  kind.  While  a  great 
many  individual  soldiers  enlisted  from  all  parts  of  the  Borough, 
the  following  companies  were  recruited  almost  wholly  in  the 
places  given;  6th  Artillery,  Company  C,  wholly,  and  Com- 
pany K,  partially,  at  West  Farms,  Company  H  in  Morrisania; 
5th  Infantry  (Duryea's  Zouaves),  Company  F,  partially,  in 
Fordham;  17th  Infantry,  Company  C,  Morrisania;  176th 
Infantry  (Ironsides),  Company  G,  in  Pelham.  When  the 
draft  was  inaugurated,  in  1863,  the  lawless  classes  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  absence  of  the  troops  in  Pennsylvania  and  the 
weakness  of  the  civil  power  to  resent  the  draft  by  forcible 
means  and  mob  violence;  though  they  did  not  go  so  far  as 
their  rebellious  neighbors  on  Manhattan  Island. 

The  disturbances  in  connection  with  the  draft  in  New  York 
began  on  July  13,  1863,  when  the  vicious  and  ignorant  who 
composed  the  mobs,  burned  the  offices  of  the  provost-marshal, 
destroyed  the  lists  of  those  subject  to  the  draft,  attacked  and 
killed  individual  soldiers  found  in  the  streets,  resisted  the 
police  to  the  point  of  murder,  tore  up  railroad  tracks,  cut 
telegraph  wires,  hung  negroes  wherever  found,  burned  and 
sacked  several  houses  belonging  to  eminent  supporters  of  the 
government,  and  burned  the  Colored  Orphan  Asylum. 

The  reports  of  all  these  lawless  doings  did  not  have  their 
effect  upon  the  inhabitants  north  of  the  Harlem  River  until 
the  next  day,  Tuesday,  the  fourteenth,  when  their  passions 
were  aroused  by  reading  the  newspaper  accounts  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  previous  day.  Mobs  visited  the  draft  offices 
at  Morrisania  and  West  Farms  and  destroyed  the  lists,  in  their 
ignorance  believing  that  the  names  could  not  be  replaced. 
The  telegraph  offices  in  Melrose  and  Williamsbridge  were 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


destroyed  and  some  rails  on  the  Harlem  and  New  Haven  rail- 
roads were  torn  up,  while  arrangements  were  made  for  the 
further  destruction  of  the  tracks  by  placing  pickets  as  far  as 
Mt.  Vernon  to  give  notice  when  it  would  be  safe  to  begin  the 
work  of  destruction.  The  railroads  were  obstructed  with 
the  intention  of  preventing  the  arrival  of  troops  or  assistance 
from  out  of  town.  The  mobs  at  West  Farms  and  Morrisania 
were  quieted  by  the  appeals  of  Supervisor  Cauldwell  and  Mr. 
Pierre  C.  Talman. 

On  the  evening  of  Wednesday,  the  fifteenth,  a  meeting  was 
held  in  the  town-hall  at  Tremont.  There  was  a  large  crowd 
present,  which  was  addressed  by  John  B.  Haskin  and  Pierre 
C.  Talman,  who  managed  the  mass  of  excited  and  ignorant 
men  with  considerable  diplomacy,  first  flattering  them  with 
the  statement  that  they  were  right  in  their  resistance  to  the 
draft  and  the  Government  all  wrong  in  enforcing  it,  and  then 
appealing  to  their  sense  of  self-respect  and  order.  The  ground 
of  the  argument  used  was  that  the  draft  was  unconstitutional, 
and  that  the  Federal  Government  had  no  right  to  invade  the 
municipal  rights  of  a  sovereign  State  until  the  courts  of  that 
State  had  decided  whether  a  Federal  act  were  constitutional 
or  not;  in  fact,  the  old  idea  of  nullification.  The  meeting  ad- 
journed after  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  seven  citizens 
"to  wait  on  Moses  G.  Sheard,  Esq.,  Federal  provost-marshal  of 
the  district,  to  insist  that  the  draft  be  stopped  till  the  State 
court  could  decide  whether  it  was  constitutional."  The  reign 
of  terror  which  had  existed  for  two  days  was  at  an  end,  as 
the  appointment  of  the  committee  seemed  to  satisfy  the  ring- 
leaders of  the  crowd.  It  is  questionable  whether  it  would  have 
done  so  if  news  had  not  come  the  next  day  that  the  troops 
were  returning  from  Gettysburg,  and  that  those  who  had 
already  arrived  in  New  York  had  come  in  contact  with  the 


West  Farms 


395 


mob,  very  much  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  latter.  Under  the 
circumstances,  the  mob  leaders  very  wisely  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  peaceable  means  would  serve  their  cause  better 
than  violence,  and  quiet  and  order  were  once  more  restored. 

In  June,  1903,  there  were  sold  at  the  County  Court-house, 
Manhattan,  twenty-five  lots  situated  in  various  parts  of  the 
Borough  under  foreclosure  proceedings  brought  by  "the  Com- 
missioners for  Loaning  Certain  Moneys  of  the  United  States 
of  the  County  of  New  York."  This  may  be  called  an  echo  of 
the  War  of  18 12.  The  different  States  contributed  money  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  that  war,  which  money  was  afterward 
paid  back  by  the  Federal  Government,  New  York  being  repaid 
in  1837.  The  State  devoted  the  money  so  received  to  mak- 
ing advances  to  small  owners  of  lands,  or  to  enable  would-be 
owners  to  purchase  property.  The  advances  in  every  case 
were  limited  to  $5000;  and  the  interest,  which  was  fixed  by 
statute  at  five  per  cent.,  was  used  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
schools.  All  the  lots,  except  three,  were  bought  in  by  the 
State  at  the  above  sale.  I  wonder  whether  the  Commission 
was  in  existence  from  1837  to  1903  and  received  pay  for  its 
services. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


WESTCHESTER 

SHORTLY  after  the  Revolution,  April  18,  1785,  the  State 
Legislature  enacted  that  "the  district  formerly  called 
and  known  by  the  style  of  the  Borough  and  Town  of 
Westchester,  shall  henceforth  be  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Town  of  Westchester."  This,  of  course,  deprived  the  town  of 
its  mayor  and  aldermen  and  of  its  right  to  have  a  representa- 
tive in  the  Assembly ;  but  the  new  township  was  authorized  to 
elect  by  the  votes  of  the  inhabitants  six  freeholders  to  act  as 
trustees  of  the  township.  By  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  18 13, 
the  trustees,  or  a  majority  of  them,  were  empowered  to  sell  the 
undivided  lands  of  the  township  and  to  continue  to  lease  the 
ferry  to  Flushing,  Long  Island. 

There  are  not  so  many  notable  objects  in  the  town  as  one 
might  expect  from  its  antiquity.  St.  Peter's  and  its  graveyard 
are  of  interest,  and  the  visitor  may  spend  some  time  in  de- 
ciphering the  older  tombstones  to  be  found  in  the  latter.  The 
Sunday-school  building  occupies  the  site  of  the  ancient  court- 
house and  jail.  The  records  of  the  judicial  proceedings  have 
been  kept  since  the  Dutch  days,  though  not  now  at  the  ancient 
town.  In  the  records  from  1657  to  1662,  we  may  find  a  num- 
ber of  names  which  are  mentioned  in  other  parts  of  this  volume : 
John  Archer,  a  born  litigant,  later  of  Fordham;  William  Betts, 

396 


Westchester 


397 


purchaser  with  Tippett  of  a  part  of  Colen  Donck,  and  Edward 
Jessup  of  the  West  Farms  patent.  At  the  time  of  annexation, 
when  the  part  of  the  Borough  east  of  the  Bronx  River  became 
a  part  of  New  York  County,  the  town  records  were  removed 
to  the  city  and  are  now  in  the  Record  Department,  Register's 
office  of  the  Comptroller's  office.  The  deeds,  wills,  and  other 
official  and  legal  papers  are  still  kept  at  White  Plains. 

At  a  town  meeting,  June  8,  1700,  it  was  resolved: 
"  That  whereas  at  a  former  meeting  ...  on  the  third  day  of 
May,  1697,  it  was  voted  and  agreed  upon  that  there  should  be  a 
town  hall,  built  to  hold  courts  in  and  for  the  publick  worship 
of  God,  but  it  being  then  neglected,  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and 
justices  at  this  meeting  did  order  with  a  joynt  consent  to 
build  a  house  for  the  uses  of  a  court  and  prison.  The  dimen- 
sions of  the  house  are  to  be  twenty-six  feet  square,  sixteen 
feet  joynts,  a  square  roof,  six  window  cases  five  feet  square, 
etc.  The  trustees  agreed  with  Richard  Ward  to  build  said 
house  for  £33,  and  with  Erasmus  Orton  to  build  the  prison 
for  £5.  It  is  to  be  twenty  feet  long,  16  feet  wide,  seven  feet 
high,  two  feet  thick  with  a  good  chimney.  .  .  .  Which  work 
is  to  be  done  by  the  31st." 

The  seal  for  the  town  was  furnished  gratis  in  1696,  by 
Colonel  Caleb  Heathcote,  the  first  mayor.  In  1746,  small- 
pox prevailed  at  Greenwich,  New  York,  then  the  meeting 
place  of  the  Assembly,  and  the  Legislature  adjourned  to  West- 
chester, probably  holding  its  sessions  in  the  court-house. 

By  the  act  of  November  1,  1683,  which  divided  the  Province 
into  counties,  the  borough- town  was  designated  as  the  county- 
seat;  and  later  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  and  General 
Jail  Delivery  was  held  in  the  court-house,  erected  under  the 
resolution  given  above.  From  the  New  York  Post  Boy  of 
1758,  we  get  the  following  item:  "new  YORK,  FEB.  13th. 
We  hear  from  Westchester  that  on  Saturday  night  the  4th 


398 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


inst.  the  Court-house  at  that  place  was  unfortunately  burned 
to  the  ground.    We  have  not  yet  heard  how  it  happened." 

The  building  was  repaired,  and  courts  were  held  here  until 
November  6,  1759,  when  the  county-seat  and  court  were  re- 
moved to  White  Plains.  The  restored  court-house  was  again 
burned  early  in  the  Revolution. 

The  old  causeway,  first  mentioned  in  the  town  records  of 
July  9,  1678,  still  connects  Throgg's  Neck  with  the  mainland. 
On  the  south  side  of  the  Westchester  end  of  the  causeway, 
there  formerly  stood  an  old  tide  mill,  which  had  been  erected 
at  a  very  early  period  by  Colonel  Caleb  Heathcote.  Behind 
its  walls,  the  outpost,  consisting  of  Hand's  Riflemen,  took 
refuge  and  prevented  the  crossing  of  the  creek  by  the  British 
on  October  12,  1776.  The  old  mill  was  operated  until  Feb- 
ruary, 1875,  when  it  took  fire  from  an  overheated  stove  and 
was  completely  destroyed.  The  causeway  is  crossed  by  a 
trolley  line  which  goes  as  far  as  the  Eastern  Boulevard;  ulti- 
mately, it  will  go  to  the  United  States  Government  reservation 
on  Throgg's  Neck. 

Several  of  the  Westchester  inhabitants  were  engaged  in  the 
sloop  trade  with  New  York  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  and  the  owners  of  the  trade  found  it  very  lucra- 
tive; later,  small  steamers  plied  between  the  two  places. 
Among  the  sloop  owners  was  Sydney  B.  Bowne,  a  respected 
Quaker  of  the  town,  who,  after  the  restoration  of  peace,  also 
conducted  a  store  in  the  village,  which  was  easily  the  most 
famous  of  the  three  or  four  stores  of  which  the  Borough  was 
possessed.  It  was  said  that  "Syd"  Bowne  always  had  what 
was  asked  for,  and  that  he  never  turned  a  customer  away 
empty-handed.  Once,  on  a  wager,  some  gentlemen  asked 
for  a  goose-yoke,  a  rather  rare  article,  but  it  was  furnished  on 
the  instant.    On  a  similar  occasion  of  a  wager,  the  article 


Looking  across  the  Creek  (1903),  Westchester. 


The  Sydney  Bowne  Store  ^1903)  Westchester. 


The  Westchester  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Walker  Avenue. 


Westchester 


399 


demanded  was  a  pulpit.  The  venerable  merchant  thought 
for  a  few  moments,  and  then  recalling  the  contents  of  his 
garret,  called  to  his  son:  "Thomas,  thee  will  find  Parson 
Wilkins's  old  pulpit  behind  the  chimney  in  the  garret."  It 
seems  that  when  St.  Peter's  had  been  renovated,  Friend 
Bowne  had  bought  the  old  pulpit.  His  store  building  has  been 
rejuvenated  almost  beyond  recognition. 

Of  the  more  modern  structures,  there  are  the  district  court- 
house and  the  Collis  P.  Huntington  free  library  and  reading- 
room,  a  comfortable  red  brick  building.  Mr.  Huntington, 
who  owned  an  extensive  estate  at  Throgg's  Neck,  gave  the 
building  to  the  town.  It  contains  a  fine  portrait  of  the  giver, 
painted  in  oils  by  William  E.  Marshall,  in  1893.  On  the  road, 
connecting  Westchester  and  West  Farms,  Walker  Avenue, 
is  the  handsome  stone  Roman  Catholic  church  of  St. 
Raymond  with  its  two  fine  towers.  Attached  to  it  are  an  old 
graveyard,  a  rectory,  and  a  parochial  school-house. 

Situated  on  Walker  Avenue  and  the  Unionport  Road  at 
Van  Nest  are  the  buildings  of  the  New  York  Catholic  Pro- 
tectory. This  organization  was  incorporated  on  April  14, 
1863,  under  the  name  of  the  "Society  for  the  Protection  of 
Destitute  Children."  It  grew  out  of  the  solicitude  of  the 
clergy  and  members  of  the  Catholic  Church  for  the  welfare 
of  the  gamins  of  the  city  streets,  and  from  the  fact  that  thou- 
sands of  Catholic  children  were  yearly  lost  to  the  faith  through 
the  non-religious  workings  of  charitable  institutions,  both 
public  and  private;  and  that  many  of  these  children  grew  up 
to  indolent  or  vicious  lives  through  parental  neglect,  or  through 
lack  of  authority  to  compel  them  to  employ  their  time  in 
useful  occupations.  The  charter  of  the  society  provides  for 
the  care  of  children  under  fourteen  years  of  age  over  whom 
their  parents  have  no  control,  or  who  are  idle,  truant,  vicious, 


400  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


or  homeless,  and  are  committed  by  a  magistrate,  or  by  the 
commissioners  of  charity. 

Experience  has  taught  that  to  conquer  the  class  of  children 
described  above,  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  have  constant  and 
useful  occupation,  with  a  proper  amount  of  play  and  out-door 
work.  The  Protectory  has  been  under  the  Christian  Brothers 
of  the  Catholic  Church  from  its  inception  to  the  present. 
They  are  not  priests,  but  are  expected  to  engage  in  no  business 
but  that  of  teaching,  and  they  are  vowed  to  go  and  teach 
wherever  they  are  sent  by  their  superiors.  The  Brothers 
are  with  the  boys  at  all  times,  whether  it  be  in  the  workshop, 
the  playground,  or  the  dormitory. 

The  institution  occupied  two  sites  in  Manhattan  before 
coming  to  Van  Nest.  The  site  here,  consisting  of  a  farm  of 
1 14  acres,  was  bought  in  June,  1865,  for  $40,000.  The  erection 
of  the  necessary  buildings  was  begun  at  once,  both  for  the  boys 
and  the  girls,  the  latter  being  separated  from  the  former  and 
being  nearer  Unionport.  A  great  fair  was  held  in  1867  to 
raise  funds  for  the  erection  of  a  building  for  girls,  who  are  in 
charge  of  the  Sisters  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul. 
This  building  was  completed  in  1869,  but  was  completely 
destroyed  by  fire  on  the  night  of  July  25,  1872;  and  the  dis- 
cipline and  courage  displayed  by  the  older  girls  were  remark- 
able. One  of  the  Sisters  said :  "  Let  no  big  girl  pass  this  way 
without  a  baby  in  her  arms";  and  without  hesitancy  "the 
big  girls"  returned  to  the  burning  building  and  smoking  dor- 
mitories and  issued  from  them  with  the  babes  in  their  arms, 
many  of  them  still  asleep.  Not  a  life  was  lost.  Fire  also 
destroyed  the  tower  of  the  Boys'  building  on  August  22,  1902. 

The  daily  routine  is  varied,  so  that  the  children  are  not  apt 
to  become  tired  with  cither  too  much  mental  or  too  much 
physical  labor.  There  is  class-room  work,  shop- work,  and  work 


Westchester 


401 


out  of  doors,  as  well  as  periods  in  the  playgrounds.  Notwith- 
standing the  liberty  given  the  inmates,  there  have  been  few 
runaways.  The  institution  is  supported  by  voluntary  sub- 
scriptions, by  contributions  from  the  State,  and  by  payments 
from  the  city  for  those  committed  by  magistrates  or  other 
authority.  Some  income  is  also  derived  from  the  Protectory 
band,  which  is  a  familiar  sight  in  most  of  the  parades  that  take 
place  in  New  York. 

The  Suburban  station  for  Westchester  is  Van  Nest,  which 
gets  its  name  from  an  estate  formerly  lying  east  of  West 
Farms.  The  Morris  Park  race-track  was  reached  by  means 
of  the  same  station ;  and  on  racing  days,  the  usual  population 
of  the  section  used  to  be  increased  by  the  thousands  of  visitors 
who  came  from  all  quarters.  A  large  part  of  the  De  Lancey 
estate,  later  belonging  to  the  Lydigs,  is  now  within  the  bounds 
of  Bronx  Park;  the  same  is  true  of  the  Lorillard  estates. 

There  are  several  necks  in  the  town  of  Westchester,  which 
jut  out  into  the  waters  of  the  East  River  or  of  the  Sound. 
The  most  westerly  one  is  that  originally  called  Cornell's  Neck, 
which,  since  the  summer  of  1909,  can  be  reached  by  the  trolley 
line  running  down  Clason  Point  Avenue  from  Westchester 
Avenue,  a  distance  of  about  two  miles.  There  is  only  one 
avenue,  so  the  course  cannot  be  mistaken.  This  road  has  been 
built  by  the  city  within  the  last  five  years,  and  it  goes  straight- 
away to  the  end  of  the  neck,  replacing  the  former  winding 
roadway,  which  was  bordered  in  many  places  by  trees,  many 
of  which  were  magnificent  in  size;  and  among  which  could 
have  been  found  black  walnuts  and  other  trees  which  are  not 
natives  of  this  latitude  but  which  were  planted  by  former 
owners  of  the  neck. 

The  neck  was  first  occupied  by  Thomas  Cornell,  one  of 

Throckmorton's  colonists,  in  1643 ;  but  he  was  driven  away  by 

26 


4-02 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


the  Indians  and  his  house  burned,  because  they  said  he  had 
not  paid  them  for  the  land.  However  that  may  be,  he  must 
have  given  satisfactory  proof  to  the  Dutch  authorities  that 
he  had  purchased  the  land,  for  a  grond  brie}  was  issued  to  him 
in  1646  by  Governor  Kieft.  To  his  grandson,  William  Willett, 
the  land  was  confirmed  by  patent  of  Colonel  Nicolls,  April 
15,  1667.    In  this  deed,  the  land  is  described  as 

"a  certaine  Parcell  of  Land,  contained  within  a  neck,  commonly 
called  and  knowne  by  ye  name  of  Cornell's  Neck,  lying  and 
being  upon  the  Maine,  toward  the  Sound  or  East  River,  being 
bounded  to  the  West  by  a  certain  Rivolett  which  runs  to  the 
Black  Rock  and  so  into  Bronckse  Creeke  or  Kill.  Then  the 
Neck  stretching  itselfe  East  South  East  into  the  Sound  is 
bounded  to  the  East  with  another  Rivolett  which  divides  it 
from  the  limits  of  West  Chester  and  a  line  being  run  from  the 
head  of  each  Rivolett  wherewith  a  narrow  slip,  the  said  Neck 
is  joined  to  the  Maine  land,  it  closes  up  the  Neck  and  makes 
the  North  bounds  thereof.' * 

The  "Rivolett  which  runs  to  the  Black  Rock"  is  at  present 
known  as  Barrett's  Creek,  and  where  it  joins  the  Bronx  River 
is  a  bluff  of  black  gneiss  at  the  southeastern  part  of  the  neck. 
From  the  presence  of  this  rock,  the  patent  and  neck,  or  farm, 
were  known  as  the  "Black  Rock"  patent  and  farm.  The 
"Rivolett  which  divides  it  from  the  limits  of  West  Chester" 
is  Wilkins's  Creek,  also  known  as  Pugsley's  Creek,  from  the 
former  owner  of  the  farm  lying  adjacent  to  the  neck  on  West- 
chester Avenue;  near-by  the  avenue  used  to  cross  the  wet 
meadows  of  Barrett's  Creek  on  a  causeway,  also  called  "Pug- 
sley's." Just  beyond  were  the  golf  links  of  the  Westchester 
Golf  Club  until  1906.  The  line  joining  the  heads  of  the  two 
creeks  is  a  few  yards  south  of  Westchester  Avenue,  the  road 
to  the  neck  formerly  passing  between  them  on  a  narrow  cause- 


Near  the  Mouth  of  Pugsley's  Creek. 


Westchester 


403 


way.  Near  the  mainland  on  each  side  of  the  neck  are  salt 
marshes  dotted  with  rocky  hummocks  which  rise  from  ten  to 
twenty  feet  above  the  surrounding  meadows;  one  of  them  to 
the  east  is  called  "Indian  Rock,"  which,  so  far  as  the  author 
can  find  out,  has  no  particular  significance,  the  name  being 
fanciful.  These  meadows  are  now  being  filled  in  with  the 
ashes  and  other  rubbish  collected  by  the  Street  Cleaning  De- 
partment. A  good  deal  of  the  property  along  Westchester 
Avenue  is  being  graded  and  otherwise  improved  by  the 
American  Realty  Company. 

The  old  road  used  to  pass  from  one  little  hummock  to  an- 
other to  the  main  part  of  the  neck,  which  is  nearly  all  less  than 
twenty  feet  above  water,  though  rising  in  two  places  to  forty 
feet.  At  the  end  of  the  neck  are  a  number  of  summer  hotels, 
bathing  pavilions,  moving-picture  places,  and  other  amusement 
places  of  like  character,  making  of  the  neck  a  sort  of  Coney 
Island  on  a  small  scale.  The  spot  has  become  very  popular 
since  the  closing  of  the  Oak  Point  resort  and  the  running  of 
the  trolley  three  years  ago,  as  one  can  get  from  almost  any 
part  of  the  Borough  to  the  resort  for  a  five-cent  fare. 

One  of  the  hotels,  the  Clason's  Point  Inn,  is  partly  of  stone, 
the  older  portion  being  the  kitchen  of  the  original  Cornell 
house,  and  another  part  attached  to  it  being  the  remains  of  the 
Willett  and  Clason  mansion.  A  short  distance  from  the  inn 
is  a  small  stone  structure  which  was  formerly  the  smoke- 
house of  the  ancient  farmstead.  When  Mr.  Clinton  Stephens 
took  possession,  he  found  the  place  in  ruins,  and  was  tempted 
to  pull  them  down  completely;  but  the  historic  associations 
finally  prevailed,  and  he  incorporated  the  remains  of  the  old 
buildings  within  the  new,  at  considerable  trouble  and  expense 
to  himself.  O !  that  there  were  more  owners  of  historic  places 
like  him!    Above  the  entrance  he  has  also  placed  a  legend  of 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


the  original  occupancy  of  the  neck  by  Cornell  and  a  brief 
statement  of  its  subsequent  history. 

The  neck  remained  in  possession  of  the  Willetts  until  1793, 
when  the  west  half  of  it  was  conveyed  to  Dominick  Lynch, 
an  Irish  gentleman,  of  whom  another  son  of  Erin  remarked: 
"  Mr.  Lynch  is  the  only  Irishman  I  ever  heard  of  that  brought 
money  to  America."  About  the  same  time,  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  neck  was  sold  to  Isaac  Clason. 1  This  part  of  the  neck 
includes  the  point,  which,  from  its  new  owner  of  1793,  took  the 
name  of  Clason' s  Point,  which  it  still  retains.  A  ferry  to  con- 
nect it  with  Long  Island  was  established  in  the  spring  of  191 2. 

Mr.  Lynch  built  a  large  and  handsome  stone  mansion  on  a 
high  point  of  his  land  which  gives  a  fine  view  of  the  neck  and 
river.  In  the  large  entrance  hall  is  a  fireplace  and  mantel  of 
Carrara  marble  beautifully  carved,  with  supporting  caryatids, 
which  does  not  show  a  scratch  or  blemish  on  the  white  grained 
stone  after  a  usage  of  more  than  a  century.  Mr.  Lynch  was 
a  devout  Catholic;  and  it  is  stated  that  the  first  services  of 
the  Church  ever  celebrated  in  Westchester  County  were  held 
in  this  mansion.  In  1830,  his  executors  sold  the  west  half 
of  the  neck  to  the  Ludlow  family;  later  it  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  Schieffelins,  who  disposed  of  it  in  1870  to  the 
Christian  Brothers  of  the  Catholic  faith,  who  used  it  until 
1883  as  a  training  school  for  the  neophytes  of  the  society. 
In  this  latter  year,  it  was  changed  into  the  Sacred  Heart 
Academy,  for  the  education  of  boys,  and  it  is  now  known  as 
the  Clason's  Point  Military  Academy.  Several  buildings, 
including  a  chapel,  have  been  added,  and  there  is  an  athletic 
field,  while  the  water  contiguous  to  the  property  allows  of 
aquatic  sports  and  pastimes. 

•The  name  is  also  spelled  Clauson  and  Classon;  but  Clason  is  the  gen- 
erally accepted  spelling. 


Westchester 


405 


The  rest  of  the  neck  is  under  cultivation,  more  or  less,  and 
one's  attention  is  attracted  by  the  great  number  of  broken 
shells  which  are  turned  up  by  the  plough.  Other  owners  of 
property  on  the  neck  were  the  Ludlow  family,  the  first  of 
whom  came  to  this  country  in  1694.  Ludlow  Street,  Man- 
hattan, was  named  after  a  member  of  this  family.  The  name 
of  the  first  Ludlow  was  Gabriel,  which  became  a  family  name, 
which  constantly  appears  in  the  family  pedigree.  One  of 
the  name  was  a  colonel  in  De  Lancey's  brigade  of  loyal- 
ists during  the  Revolution;  his  half-sister  was  the  wife  of 
Francis  Lewis,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence; which  shows  how  members  of  the  same  family  dif- 
fered in  their  political  views  during  Revolutionary  times. 
Perhaps  it  was  a  good  thing  for  some  of  the  loyalists  that 
this  was  so;  for  undoubtedly  many  a  handsome  estate  was 
saved  from  confiscation  through  the  prominence  of  some 
patriotic  member  of  a  family  who  was  in  the  line  of 
inheritance. 

Westchester  Avenue,  east  of  the  Southern  Boulevard,  is 
still  very  little  built  upon,  though  a  large  tract  of  land  is  being 
developed  by  the  American  Realty  Company  beyond  the 
Bronx  River.  The  thoroughfare  was,  until  1904,  little  dif- 
ferent from  a  country  road,  lined  by  magnificent  trees,  which 
have  disappeared  since  the  widening  and  grading  of  the  street 
in  the  year  mentioned.  At  the  same  time,  a  turn-table  bridge 
was  erected  over  the  Bronx  River  and  the  tracks  of  the  Sub- 
urban branch  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford 
Railroad.  Before  this,  the  crossing  had  been  at  grade,  and  it 
was  a  dangerous  place. 

To  the  eastward  of  Cornell's  Neck  is  Castle  Hill  Neck, 
upon  which  Unionport  is  situated.  To  reach  the  end  of  the 
neck,  we  go  out  Avenue  C,  past  the  public-school  building. 


406  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Unionport  occupies  the  head  of  the  neck  lying  between  West- 
chester and  Pugsley  creeks. 

In  the  town  records  of  Westchester,  we  find  under  date  of 
May  6,  1729,  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  "sheep 
pasture"  which  had  been  granted  to  the  town  by  the  charter 
of  February  28,  1721.  The  freeholders  of  the  town  were 
entitled  to  free  pasturage  for  twenty-five  sheep  for  each  in- 
dividual; "a  cow  in  lieu  of  five  sheep,  a  horse,  mare,  or  an  ox; 
in  lieu  of  a  sheep,  a  calf;  in  lieu  of  two  sheep,  a  yearling" — 
all  of  which  is  reminiscent  of  the  problems  we  used  to  solve  in 
our  childhood's  days,  which  we  used  to  think  rather  "crazy" 
and  made  up  for  the  special  purpose  of  further  addling  our 
poor  understandings.  In  respect,  then,  to  a  common  pastur- 
age, the  settlers  of  Westchester  were  not  behind  their  New 
England  relatives;  nor  had  they  departed  from  the  ways  of 
their  Anglo-Saxon  forbears  in  old  England.  The  "sheep 
pasture,"  or  "Commons,"  as  it  was  later  called,  embraced 
about  four  hundred  acres  on  the  west  side  of  Westchester 
Creek,  together  with  a  fenced-in  piece  of  an  acre  and  a  half 
on  Stony  Brook,  where  the  owners  were  in  the  habit  of  folding 
and  washing  their  sheep. 

In  1825,  the  trustees  of  the  town  sold  the  Commons,  as 
undivided  lands  belonging  to  the  town,  to  Martin  Wilkins,  Esq. 
They  then  passed  through  several  hands,  including  those  of 
his  grandson,  Gouverneur  Morris  Wilkins,  who  paid  $300,000 
for  them.  He  sold  them,  in  1 85 1,  to  a  building  association, 
that  established  here  the  village  of  Unionport;  which,  in  the 
earlier  days  of  the  electric  cars,  was  a  favorite  resort  on  Sun- 
days and  holidays.  The  Industrial  Home  Association  Number 
Two  filed  its  map  of  Unionport  at  White  Plains  August  23, 
1854.  Included  in  this  plot  was  also  the  Lowcrre  farm,  which 
Wilkins  had  bought  for  $25,000.    He  resold  it  in  September, 


Westchester 


407 


1 85 1,  at  a  contract  price  of  $200  an  acre,  to  Henry  Palmer, 
trustee  of  the  building  association.  This  will  give  an  idea  of 
the  value  of  land  in  this  vicinity  as  long  ago  as  the  middle  of 
the  last  century. 

Passing  out  Avenue  C,  we  go  through  a  stone  gateway  and 
over  a  shady  country  road  and  reach  the  neck  itself.  The 
surrounding  fields  are  well-cultivated,  the  old  estates  being  in 
possession  of  German  market  gardeners.  We  get  fine  views 
from  the  top  of  the  ridge  along  which  we  pass  to  the  outer 
end  of  the  neck.  The  road  ends  at  a  fence  about  an  estate 
which  gives  evidences  of  having  once  been  a  gentleman's 
country-place.  It  formerly  belonged  to  the  late  Gouverneur 
Morris  Wilkins,  and  later  to  his  son-in-law,  John  Screven, 
from  whom  the  neck  is  known  locally  as  "Screven's  Point." 
The  mansion  stands  on  a  bluff  near  the  end  of  the  neck  over- 
looking a  stretch  of  meadow.  The  view  is  a  fine  one,  with  the 
mouth  of  Westchester  Creek  and  Old  Ferry  Point  to  the  east- 
ward and  the  East  River  to  the  south  with  the  hills  of  Long 
Island  beyond. 

If,  when  we  come  to  the  end  of  the  Castle  Hill  Road,  we 
turn  to  the  right,  we  can  follow  a  lane  which  passes  close  to 
the  fence  and  which  brings  us  into  the  farmyard  of  the  ancient 
home  of  the  Reverend  Isaac  Wilkins,  built,  supposedly,  about 
1765.  It  is  likely  that  the  house  is  even  older  than  this,  as  it 
may  have  been  erected  by  the  Underhills,  or  even  by  the 
Crom wells,  previous  owners  of  the  neck;  and  the  curious 
hiding-place  which  the  house  contains  may  have  been  con- 
structed for  protection  from  the  Indians;  or,  more  likely, 
as  a  place  for  the  storage  of  smuggled  goods.  The  lonely 
position  of  the  house  and  the  convenience  to  the  creek  at 
its  very  door  lend  likelihood  to  the  latter  supposition,  as 
we  know  that  the  gentlemen  of  colonial  days  were  exten- 


408  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


sively  engaged  with,  or  at  least  interested  in,  the  contraband 

trade. 

The  house  consists  of  two  parts,  the  living  part  of  two  stories 
and  a  single  storied  part  which  constitutes  the  kitchen,  where 
the  great  brick  fireplace  with  its  Dutch  ovens  still  remains. 
Back  of  the  low-ceiled  dining-room  is  a  large  room  partly 
underground,  which  is  the  cellar  for  the  storage  of  vegetables 
and  food,  probably  the  milk  room  of  the  ancient  farmstead. 
The  chief  interest  in  the  house,  however,  lies  in  the  second 
story,  where,  back  of  the  immense  chimney,  a  hole  in  the  floor 
gives  access  to  a  subterranean  vault,  or  room,  of  which  ab- 
solutely no  indication  is  given  on  the  lower  floor.  The  flooring 
is  very  wide,  not  less  than  twelve  inches;  and  upon  the  visit 
of  the  author,  the  occupant  of  the  house  obligingly  removed 
the  trap-door  in  order  that  he  might  see  into  the  dark  depths 
below.  Local  tradition  says  there  is  a  passage  under  the 
creek  towards  Cornell's  Neck;  but  such  an  engineering 
feat  as  this  would  have  been  almost  impossible  in  colonial 
days. 

It  was  within  this  vault  in  1776,  before  the  British  obtained 
possession  of  this  section  of  Westchester  County,  that  the 
three  loyalist  clergymen,  Dr.  Myles  Cooper,  President  of 
King's  College,  Dr.  Chandler  of  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  and 
Dr.  Samuel  Seabury,  Rector  of  Westchester,  hid  themselves 
for  some  time  while  awaiting  an  opportunity  to  escape  to  Long 
Island.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  this  whole  section 
was  patrolled  by  the  troops  of  Heath's  command,  and  that  the 
house  was  frequently  searched  for  fleeing  loyalists,  so  in- 
geniously contrived  is  the  hiding-place  that  the  reverend 
gentlemen  escaped  detection  and  were  able  finally  to  get  away 
safely  to  the  other  side  of  the  Sound.  It  is  not  unlikely  that 
the  house  harbored  less  distinguished  visitors  than  the  three 


The  Wilkins  Mansion,  from  Clason's  Point. 


Westchester 


409 


mentioned  above,  as  Westchester  was  a  loyalist  stronghold, 
and  the  patriots  were  hot  after  their  recalcitrant  fellow- 
countrymen,  who  would  be  likely  to  take  advantage  of  such  a 
secure  and  secret  hiding-place.  Upon  the  near-by  creek,  boats 
and  fishing  tackle  are  furnished  to  those  who  wish  to  pursue 
the  "gentle  art." 

The  earliest  record  we  have  of  the  property  is  of  the  date  of 
1685,  when  "John  Cromwell  and  Elizabeth  Cromwell,  his 
wife,  exchanged  six  acres  of  meadow  with  Thomas  Hunt,  for 
eight  acres  of  upland,  situated  upon  Castle  Neck."  John 
Cromwell  is  said  to  have  been  a  nephew  of  the  great  Lord 
Protector  Oliver.  In  consequence  of  his  occupancy  of  the 
neck,  it  was  known  for  some  time  as  " Cromwell's  Neck." 
From  the  Cromwells,  the  property  passed  to  a  younger  branch 
of  the  Underhills,  descendants  of  the  redoubtable  Captain 
John  Underhill,  whose  surprise  and  massacre  of  the  Indians  at 
Mianus  broke  up  the  Indian  war  of  Kieft's  administration. 
Isaac  Wilkins  was  the  next  owner,  and  he  disposed  of  it  in 
1784,  to  Gilbert  Pell  for  £2500;  after  which  it  passed  through 
several  hands  until  it  came  into  those  of  Martin  Wilkins,  a 
descendant  of  the  Reverend  Isaac.  Why  the  property  es- 
caped confiscation  to  the  State  under  the  laws  of  1779,  se- 
questrating the  property  of  loyalists,  is  a  question.  Political 
and  family  influences,  especially  the  latter,  were  more  potent 
in  those  days  than  these;  and  it  should  be  remembered  that 
Wilkins's  wife  was  a  half-sister  of  Lewis,  and  a  full-sister  of 
Gouverneur  Morris,  two  famous  Whigs. 

The  name  of  Throgg's  Neck  is  given  to  all  that  portion  of 
the  former  town  of  Westchester  lying  between  Westchester 
Creek,  the  East  River,  the  Sound,  and  Eastchester  Bay.  As 
early  as  1704,  tne  northern  portion,  now  within  Pelham  Bay 
Park,  was  called  "Dorman's  Island."    Of  its  earliest  settle- 


4io  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


ment  by  Throgmorton,  Cornell,  and  their  companions,  an 
account  has  already  been  given  in  Chapter  II. 

After  the  Indian  war  of  Kieft's  administration,  such  part  of 
the  land  as  had  not  been  occupied  by  the  colonists  came  into 
the  possession  of  Augustine  Hermans.  It  is  probable  that 
those  colonists  who  escaped  the  Indian  massacre  returned  to 
the  neck  after  that  unhappy  affair  and  once  more  occupied  and 
cultivated  their  lands.  Two  of  these  were  named  Spicer  and 
Brockett,  who  gave  their  names  to  two  necks  on  the  south  side 
of  the  peninsula.  On  the  southwest  side  of  Spicer's  Neck, 
the  Siwanoy  Indians  had  one  of  their  most  important  places 
of  sepulture,  and  hence  the  neck  was  frequently  called  "Burial 
Point."  On  January  7,  1667,  Colonel  Nicolls  granted  to 
Roger  Townsend  "a  certain  parcel  of  land  ...  at  ye  south- 
east end  of  Throgmorton's  neck,  commonly  called  New  Found 
Passage,  containing  fifteen  acres,  as  also  a  small  neck  thereto 
adjoining  commonly  called  Horseneck,  being  about  the  same 
quantity  of  land,  which  is  not  in  occupation." 

On  January  12,  1686,  Spicer's  and  Brockett's  necks  were 
patented  to  Thomas  Hunt  of  Westchester  by  Governor  Don- 
gan  under  the  title  of  Grove  Farm.  The  yearly  quit-rent  was 
a  bushel  of  good  winter  wheat,  to  be  paid  "on  or  before  the 
five  and  twentieth  day  of  March,  at  the  city  of  New  York." 
That  Hunt  had  received  a  previous  confirmation  is  evident 
from  his  will  of  1694,  in  which  he  "bequeathes  to  my 
grandson  Josiah  Hunt,  eldest  son  of  my  son  Josiah  Hunt, 
the  Drove  Farm,  to  him  and  to  his  heirs  male,  which  was 
patented  to  me  by  Governor  Nicolls  4th  December,  1667,  and 
further  entails  the  same  to  the  said  Josiah  and  his  heirs  male 
lawfully  begotten  from  generation  to  generation."  It  may  be 
mentioned,  in  passing,  that  all  entails  in  the  State  of  New 
York  were  broken  by  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  1825. 


Westchester 


411 


This  was  the  same  Thomas  Hunt,  who  married  a  daughter 
of  Edward  Jessup,  one  of  the  patentees  of  the  West  Farms, 
and  thus  came  into  possession  of  the  Planting  Neck,  afterward 
called  Hunt's  Point.  The  Grove  Farm  was  sold  at  public 
vendue  on  May  6,  1760,  to  Josiah  Cousten  for  £3400;  so  that 
we  must  conclude  either  that  the  male  line  of  the  Hunts  had 
run  out,  or  that  the  entail  had  been  broken.  Cousten  sold 
the  same  property  in  October,  1775,  to  John  Ferris,  a  descend- 
ant of  John  Ferris,  one  of  the  original  patentees  of  Westchester, 
who  had  married  Myanna  Hunt.  In  consequence  of  this 
purchase,  Spicer's  Neck  became  known  as  Ferris 's  Point.  From 
B rocket t's  Neck,  just  beyond,  the  ferry  connected  with 
Whitestone,  Long  Island,  and  the  neck  thus  became  known 
as  Old  Ferry  Point.  It  is  to-day  owned  by  members  of  the 
Lorillard  and  De  Zerega  families. 

Ferris  Avenue,  or  Ferry  Lane,  is  a  beautiful,  shady  road, 
leading  down  to  both  necks  from  the  Eastern  Boulevard.  On 
the  right  is  the  property  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Deaf  and 
Dumb  Asylum;  and  beyond  that  is  the  old  Ferris  house, 
which,  though  modernized,  dates  from  the  days  of  the  Hunts. 
It  was  rented  to  a  market  gardener  at  the  time  of  the  author's 
visit  and  presented  the  worst  degree  of  dilapidation  of  any  of 
the  old  houses  that  he  has  seen.  The  house  is  close  to  West- 
chester Creek,  of  which  it  commands  a  fine  view.  In  October, 
1776,  the  owner  was  James  Ferris,  who,  with  his  family,  was 
at  breakfast  on  the  morning  of  the  twelfth,  when  a  gun  from 
the  direction  of  the  water  apprised  him  of  the  landing  of  Sir 
William  Howe  and  his  army.  Ferris  was  later  captured  by 
the  Queen's  Rangers  and  imprisoned  in  the  "Provost"  prison 
in  the  city  of  New  York. 

About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  celebrated 
loyalist  printer  of  New  York,  James  Rivington,  became  the 


412  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 

owner  of  considerable  property  on  Throgg's  Neck.  He  after- 
ward disposed  of  it  to  Colonel  Samuel  Vetch  Bayard,  also  a 
loyalist  during  the  Revolution ;  and  it  later  came  into  posses- 
sion of  his  brother,  William  Bayard.  The  Bayards  were  of 
French  Huguenot  extraction,  and  their  ancestors  played 
prominent  parts  in  the  political  affairs  of  the  Province  as 
members  of  the  governor's  council,  members  of  the  Provincial 
Assembly,  and  in  other  positions. 

As  we  cross  over  the  causeway  from  Westchester,  we  are 
confronted  by  the  Presbyterian  Church  on  a  spot  on  the  op- 
posite hill,  upon  which  the  British  erected  a  semicircular 
breastwork  in  October,  1776,  as  a  protection  from  the  American 
riflemen  and  artillery  at  the  Westchester  end  of  the  causeway, 
during  the  five  days  that  Sir  William  Howe  held  the  neck 
before  his  advance  toward  New  Rochelle.  The  road  leads 
straightaway  to  the  end  of  the  neck,  where  Fort  Schuyler  is 
situated.  The  road  is  a  fine  one  and  has  been  a  favorite  with 
wheelemen  and  drivers,  and  is  now  with  motorists.  On  both 
sides  one  can  still  see  magnificent  country  estates  belonging  to 
people  whose  names  are  famous  in  our  commercial,  military, 
and  political  annals,  or  well-known  simply  on  account  of  their 
wealth.  A  number  of  these  estates  have  been  developed 
under  the  name  of  Throgg's  Neck  Gardens  within  the  last 
year  or  two;  and  the  probable  extension  of  the  subway  will 
make  them  accessible  and  desirable. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  road,  beyond  the  Eastern  Boulevard, 
are  the  grounds  of  the  Westchester  Polo  Club.  The  trolley 
line  goes  as  far  as  the  Eastern  Boulevard,  and  will,  in  time, 
extend  to  the  end  of  the  neck;  but  there  is  at  present  a  long, 
but  pleasant,  walk,  if  one  is  on  foot.  The  Eastern  Boulevard 
1  x tends  now  from  Pelham  Bridge  to  Unionport;  but,  when 
completed  in  accordance  with  the  original  plan  and  survey, 


The  "  Spy  Oak  "  on  the  Pelham  Road,  Throgg's  Neck. 


Fort  Schuyler,  irom  the  Wharf.    (See  page  415.) 


Westchester 


4i3 


it  will  cross  Castle  Hill  Neck,  and  Clason's  Point  and  end  at 
Port  Morris;  but  to  do  this  will  require  a  great  amount  of 
filling  in,  as  a  number  of  wide  stretches  of  meadow  land  are 
to  be  crossed. 

On  the  north  side  of  Throgg's  Neck  are  Locust  Point,  or 
island,  and  Weir  Creek,  as  well  as  a  small  settlement  called 
Pennyfield.  If  we  turn  to  the  north  over  the  Eastern  Boule- 
vard, we  shall  pass  the  grounds  of  the  Westchester  Country 
Club;  and,  continuing  on  our  way,  shall  come  to  Pelham 
Bridge. 

The  ancient  road  connecting  Westchester  causeway  with 
Pelham  Bridge  passes  one  of  the  famous  trees  of  the  Borough. 
This  is  the  "Spy,"  or  "Haunted,"  Oak.  Its  age  must  run 
into  centuries;  as  three  feet  from  the  ground  its  girth  is  twenty 
feet,  and  at  the  ground  the  spreading  roots  must  increase 
this  measurement  by  at  least  ten  more.  It  gets  its  name  from 
the  tradition  that  a  British  spy,  caught  prowling  near  the 
American  line,  was  hanged  from  one  of  its  branches.  For 
years,  the  spot  has  been  considered  to  be  haunted  by  the  spirit 
of  the  unfortunate  victim;  and  he  is,  indeed,  brave  who  will 
go  by  the  spot  after  nightfall.  An  old  gentleman  from  Chicago 
whom  the  author  met  at  the  tree  and  who  was  visiting  the 
scenes  of  his  childhood  and  youth,  told  the  writer  that  in  his 
boyhood's  days  there  were  two  brothers  living  in  the  neighbor- 
hood who  were  famous,  or  otherwise,  for  their  boyish  pranks. 
These  youngsters  would  frequently  hide  behind  the  stone  wall 
bordering  the  road  near  the  tree,  and,  as  dusk  settled  down, 
keep  a  bright  lookout  for  any  traveller  upon  the  road.  Upon 
the  approach  of  such  a  person — if  a  child,  so  much  the  better1 — 
they  would  at  once  set  up  a  series  of  the  most  heartrending 
moans  and  shrieks  until  the  scared  passer-by  would  take  to 
his  heels  with  added  evidence  of  the  place  being  haunted. 


414  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Lying  northeast  of  Throgg's  Neck,  and  between  it  and  City- 
Island,  are  several  small  rocky  islands  whose  tops  are  bare  at 
low  tide,  and  upon  one  of  which  the  Federal  Government 
maintains  a  light-house.  These  islets  are  called  the  "Step- 
ping-stones"; and  the  origin  of  the  name  is  due  to  the 
following  Indian  legend: 

The  evil  spirit  set  up  a  claim  to  the  shores  of  Connecticut, 
then  in  possession  of  the  Indians,  who  determined  to  hold 
their  land,  on  the  principle  that  "possession  is  nine  points  of 
the  law."  But  before  doing  so  they  laid  the  whole  matter 
before  their  squaws,  as  most  wise  men  do  in  cases  of  great  im- 
portance, anticipating  the  dictum  of  the  famous  Captain 
John  Underhill,  who  says :  "Let  no  man  despise  the  advice  and 
counsel  of  his  wife,  though  she  be  a  woman.'"  After  fully  con- 
sidering the  matter,  the  squaws  advised  their  lords  to  compro- 
mise the  matter  with  his  satanic  majesty  by  vacating  the 
disputed  premises  upon  receiving  remuneration  for  their 
betterments,  a  New  England  term  that  signifies,  houses,  cul- 
tivated or  cleared  land,  or  land  which  has  been  prepared  for 
cultivation  in  the  Indian  fashion  by  girdling  the  trees.  As  a 
matter  of  course,  no  answer  was  vouchsafed  to  this  demand 
of  the  Indians,  and  the  two  parties  prepared  for  the  final 
arbitrament  of  war. 

The  Indians  knew  they  were  no  match  for  the  arch-fiend, 
but  they  thought  that,  by  having  a  constant  and  fresh  supply 
of  reinforcements,  they  would  be  able  to  keep  up  the  contest 
night  and  day,  and  thus  tire  him  out.  At  his  first  advance, 
the  enemy  swept  everything  before  him,  but  the  Indians 
carried  out  their  plan  so  successfully  and  harassed  him  so  con- 
tinually that  he  was  finally  baffled  by  their  vigilance  and  per- 
severance and  was  compelled  to  fall  back.  As  he  retreated 
along  the  shore,  always  presenting  a  bold  front  to  the  advan- 


Westchester 


415 


cing  hosts  and  keeping  the  Sound  on  his  right  flank,  he  came 
to  the  narrow  part  of  it  at  Throgg's  Neck ;  and,  the  tide  being 
out  and  the  rocky  islets  bare,  he  stepped  upon  their  tops,  and 
quickly  and  safely  reached  the  shore  of  Long  Island.  At  a 
point  on  Throgg's  Neck  where  he  stood  before  jumping  to  the 
first  islet,  he  left  the  print  of  his  great  toe,  and  thus  gave  to 
the  point  and  the  surrounding  property  the  name  of  "Satans- 
toe,"  whose  owners,  according  to  Cooper  in  his  novel  of  the 
name,  were,  in  colonial  times,  the  family  of  Littlepage. 

Now  comes  in  a  part  of  the  legend  which  tallies,  to  some 
extent,  with  the  location  of  the  terminal  moraines  of  the  glacial 
period  on  the  shores  of  Connecticut. 

Satan  retired  to  the  interior  of  Long  Island  in  a  highly  en- 
raged state,  and  recovered  from  his  fatigues.  Still  incensed 
at  the  indignities  that  had  been  heaped  upon  him,  he  gathered 
together  a  great  quantity  of  stones  and  boulders  at  Cold 
Spring  on  the  shore  and  hurled  them  across  the  Sound  upon 
the  shores  of  Connecticut  as  we  see  them  to  this  day ;  before 
that  time,  the  fields  of  Connecticut  had  been  free  of  rocks  and 
boulders  and  easily  tillable. 

At  the  end  of  Throgg's  Neck  is  Fort  Schuyler,  which,  with 
Fort  Totten  on  Willett's  Point,  Whitestone,  Long  Island, 
commands  the  eastern  entrance  to  the  East  River,  which  is 
here  very  narrow.  To  the  eastward  of  the  two  points  is  the 
Sound.  Fort  Schuyler  was  named  in  honor  of  General  Philip 
Schuyler,  who  commanded  the  Northern  Army  in  1777,  and 
whose  conduct  of  the  campaign  made  possible  the  defeat  and 
capture  of  Burgoyne  by  the  succeeding  American  commander, 
Horatio  Gates. 

The  Government  reservation  consists  of  fifty-two  acres, 
purchased  in  1826.  The  fort  was  begun  in  1833  and  completed 
in  1856.    It  is  built  of  granite  brought  from  Greenwich,  Con- 


4i 6  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


necticut,  and  was  built  to  mount  318  guns  and  to  accommodate 
a  garrison  of  1250  men.  The  old  stone  fort  has  quite  outlived 
its  usefulness;  and,  though  it  still  stands  as  a  picturesque 
object,  with  its  frowning  and  half-empty  casemates,  when 
viewed  from  the  Sound,  and  is  an  object  of  interest  to  the 
landward  visitor,  the  reliance  for  attack  and  defence  must  be 
in  the  more  modern  fortifications  and  armaments  which  sur- 
round it.  The  development  of  the  defences  at  the  eastern 
entrance  to  the  Sound  at  Fisher's  Island  has  rendered  Fort 
Schuyler  almost  useless,  and  in  the  summer  of  191 1  the 
garrison  was  withdrawn  and  the  fort  put  in  charge  of  a  ser- 
geant and  a  small  body  of  picked  men  to  act  as  caretakers. 

On  the  south  side  of  Throgg's  Neck,  west  of  Fort  Schuyler, 
are  estates  belonging  to  T.  C.  Havemeyer,  Mrs.  Collis  P. 
Huntington,  Alfred  Hennen  Morris,  and  others,  which  are 
superb  in  extent  and  situation  and  in  the  care  lavished  upon 
them.  Upon  a  part  of  the  Huntington  estate,  known  at 
various  times  as  the  Mitchell,  the  Ashe,  and  the  Livingston 
estate,  is  the  finest  cedar  of  Lebanon  to  be  found  in  the  United 
States.  It  was  planted  by  Philip  Livingston  about  1790  and 
has  thriven  in  a  remarkable  degree  for  this  latitude.  Its 
height  is  over  forty  feet,  and  its  girth  about  thirteen,  while 
the  spread  of  its  branches  is  over  fifty.  Mr.  Livingston  also 
planted  many  other  trees  and  plants,  one  of  which,  a  copper 
beech,  said  to  have  been  the  finest  in  the  United  States,  was 
blown  down  about  twenty  years  ago.  Most  of  the  gentlemen 
of  several  generations  ago  of  this  section  were  deeply  inter- 
ested in  horticulture  and  arboriculture,  and  the  Ferris  nurs- 
eries were  particularly  famous.  We  are  reaping  the  benefit 
to-day ;  for  the  most  striking  feature  of  Pelham  Bay  Park  is 
the  magnificence  of  its  trees,  though  most  of  the  fine  chest- 
nuts have  been  killed  by  the  blight  that  has  been  affecting 


Cedar  of  Lebanon,  Huntington  Estate,  Throgg's  Neck. 


John  Williams's  House,  Williamsbridge,  Built  about  1755.    Removed  in  1903 


The  Husted  House,  221st  St.  near  White  Plains  Road.  Rear  View. — Williamsbridge 


Westchester 


417 


all  trees  of  that  variety  in  this  vicinity  within  the  last  ten 

years. 

On  the  west  side  of  Westchester  Creek,  the  principal  road- 
way, leading  from  the  borough-town  through  the  middle  of 
the  township  is  the  Eastchester  Road,  which  is  mentioned  in 
NicolTs  grant  of  the  Ten  Farms  as  the  "Westchester  path." 
Before  the  days  of  the  Oostdorp  settlers,  it  was  a  trail,  or  path, 
used  by  the  Siwanoys.  It  passes  along  the  meadows  of  the 
creek  to  the  higher  ground  along  their  edge  and  crosses  the 
Boston  Road  at  Corsa  Lane  (Eleventh  Avenue),  Williams- 
bridge.  From  this  point,  the  Coles  Road  followed  the  East- 
chester Road.  It  crosses  the  Bronx  and  Pelham  Parkway; 
and  it  was  not  far  from  this  spot  that  the  Americans  had  an 
outpost  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  crossing  at  the  head  of  the 
creek  in  October,  1776.  A  great  deal  of  the  material  taken 
from  the  Jerome  Park  reservoir  was  used  for  filling  in  the 
meadows  in  this  vicinity.  Beyond  the  Eastchester  Road  is 
the  Williamsbridge  Road,  passing  to  the  north  of  the  Morris 
Park  race- track ;  on  the  south  of  the  track  is  the  Bear  Swamp 
Road  leading  to  Bronxdale. 

Bronxdale  was  like  West  Farms  on  a  small  scale;  as,  having 
been  a  milling  village  strung  along  the  Boston  Road  in  the 
early  part  of  the  last  century,  the  substantial  stone  cottages 
and  houses  stood  until  191 1,  when  they  were  all  removed  out 
of  Bronx  Park,  being  either  demolished  or  taken  to  other 
sites.  Robert  Bolton  established  a  bleachery  near  where  the 
Boston  Road  crosses  the  Bronx  River  about  1820,  and  for 
many  years  a  successful  business  was  conducted  here.  The 
little  village  was  about  a  mile  above  West  Farms,  but  the  com- 
munity of  interests  made  them  virtually  one  settlement. 
Bronxdale  is  connected  with  Williamsbridge  by  the  White 
Plains  Road;  but  this  section  is  so  sparsely  settled  and  devel- 
27 


4i 8  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


oped  that  the  traveller  finds  it  hard  to  believe  that  he  is  within 
the  limits  of  the  second  largest  city  in  the  world.  With  so 
many  hundreds  of  acres  of  unimproved  land,  it  seems  a  pity 
that  it  cannot  be  used  for  the  erection  of  individual  houses  for 
the  working  classes,  as  in  all  the  other  great  cities  of  the  world. 
But  the  New  York  owners  and  builders  are  so  wedded  to  the 
idea  of  flats,  or  tenements,  that  it  is  not  likely  they  would 
embark  in  any  single-house  proposition  at  low  rentals;  nor  is 
it  likely  that  probably  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  city  would  find  themselves  comfortable,  or  at  home,  in 
anything  else  but  a  flat. 

In  the  northeast  portion  of  the  old  township  is  Williams- 
bridge,  which  gets  its  name  from  a  farmer  of  pre-Revolutionary 
days  whose  farm  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  Bronx  River  near 
the  bridge.  John  Williams's  house,  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  old,  was  still  standing  in  1903,  on  First  Street,  a 
little  east  of  the  White  Plains  Road,  within  the  new  park 
that  has  resulted  from  the  widening  of  the  street.  The  writer 
tried  to  insure  the  preservation  of  the  old  house  by  calling 
attention  to  it  through  one  of  our  public  societies,  but  without 
success;  as  the  building  was  removed  by  one  of  the  Italians, 
of  whom  there  are  so  many  in  this  locality,  to  whom  the  old 
house  had  been  sold  for  firewood. 

The  Bronx  River  presents  some  beautiful  views  below  the 
bridge.  Its  banks  are  lined  with  residences  whose  backyards 
are  prevented  by  substantial  stone  walls  from  being  swept 
away  by  the  winding  stream  when  in  flood  or  freshet.  A  few 
steps  lead  down  to  the  stream,  where  a  flat-bottomed  boat  is 
tied,  and  overhead  there  is  an  archway  of  trees — the  whole 
making  a  scene  of  great  beauty.  Many  of  the  occupants  of 
the  houses  are  French  and  their  grounds  and  houses  are  orna- 
mented with  statues  and  flowers,  so  that  one  is  reminded  of 


Westchester 


419 


the  pictures  by  Ridgway  Knight.  The  French  settlement  has 
been  in  existence  for  about  twenty  years  and  is  due  to  the 
factory  for  the  manufacture  of  Gobelins  tapestries.  There 
are  also  several  French  restaurants  where  one  can  dine  al 
fresco;  and  one  of  which,  "A  l'Hermitage,"  has  been  made 
famous  by  F.  Hopkinson  Smith  in  his  A  Day  at  Laguerre's. 

The  former  village  of  Williamsbridge,  which  was  incorpo- 
rated and  elected  its  officers,  December  27,  1888,  comprised 
Olinville  Number  One,  Olinville  Number  Two,  Jerome,  and 
Wakefield.  The  first  two  were  named  after  Bishop  Olin  of 
the  Methodist  Church,  the  map  of  Number  One  having  been 
filed  at  the  county-seat  at  White  Plains  on  December  18,  1852, 
and  that  of  Number  Two,  on  April  11,  1854.  The  first  lay 
north  of  the  bridge  along  the  Bronx  River,  and  the  latter, 
south  of  the  bridge  as  far  as  the  Lorillard  estate,  now  within 
Bronx  Park;  the  White  Plains  Road  was  the  eastern  boundary 
of  both.  Jerome  was  a  smaller  section  north  of  the  bridge 
and  east  of  the  White  Plains  Road;  and  Wakefield,  laid  out 
in  1853,  was  east  and  north  of  Jerome.  Laconia  Park  is  a 
speculative  holding  laid  out  about  1888,  lying  between  Wake- 
field and  the  Boston  (Coles)  Road. 

The  northern  boundary  of  Williamsbridge  and  the  town  of 
Westchester  is  on  the  line  of  229th  Street;  east  of  that  is  Black 
Dog  Brook,  extending  to  the  Hutchinson  River.  On  221st 
Street,  east  of  the  White  Plains  Road,  is  the  old  Husted  house, 
which  antedates  the  Revolution.  It  is  the  best  example  of 
colonial  methods  of  building  that  the  author  has  seen.  The 
sills,  rafters,  and  studding  are  all  of  hewn  timbers,  held  together 
by  wooden  trenails;  where  the  plaster  is  off,  the  split  laths 
nailed  on  with  wrought  nails  can  be  easily  seen;  the  shingles 
on  the  roof  and  sides  are  also  of  split  wood,  and  the  flooring  is 
of  a  width  seldom  seen  in  these  days — about  twelve  inches. 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


The  ancient  road  to  Boston  passed  about  two  hundred  feet 
in  front  of  the  house,  and  the  author  has  seen  a  solid  shot  dug 
up  from  the  old  road,  upon  which  are  plainly  to  be  seen  the 
marks  of  the  hammer  with  which  it  was  beaten  into  a  spherical 
form.  The  house  may  have  been  used  as  an  inn  in  the  olden 
times,  and  there  is  a  tradition  that  Washington  stopped  here. 
Perhaps  he  did  while  inspecting  his  outposts  in  the  fall  of  1776, 
perhaps  in  going  to  or  returning  from  Pell's  Point,  where  he 
directed  the  establishment  of  the  outpost,  which,  on  the 
eighteenth  of  October,  when  in  command  of  Colonel  Glover, 
was  to  prevent  his  left  flank  from  being  turned,  and  which 
gave  him  the  chance  to  safely  withdraw  his  army  to  White 
Plains .  The  old  house  encroaches  on  the  road ,  and  the  Bureau 
of  Highways  directed  its  removal  several  years  ago;  but  the 
street  is  not  yet  needed  for  building  purposes,  and  so  the 
house  has  been  allowed  to  stand. 


The  Home  of  the  Pattis  in  Wakefield. 
Sketch  by  W.  J.  Wilson,  1885. 


The  Entrance  to  the  Penfield  Estate,  on  the  White  Plains  Road. 
Sketch  by  W.  J.  Wilson,  1885. 


'  '•■  th   Bi  ton  Road,  Bastchester,  "  15  Miles  to  New  York." 


CHAPTER  XIX 


EASTCHESTER  AND  PELHAM 

OF  the  town  of  Eastchester,  comparatively  little  was 
added  to  the  Borough.  The  name  of  Washington- 
ville  was  that  originally  applied  to  the  station  on 
the  Harlem  Railroad  where  the  New  Haven  Railroad  leaves 
the  Harlem  tracks  and  swings  to  the  eastward;  but  a  few 
years  ago  the  name  was  changed  to  Wakefield,  which  has 
thus  become  the  upper  end  of  the  city.  A  small  settlement 
close  to  Wakefield  was  called  Jacksonville.  The  section  on 
the  east  of  the  Bronx  River  abreast  of  Woodlawn  Cemetery 
still  awaits  development,  though  the  proposed  park  reserva- 
tion along  the  river  will  probably  take  considerable  of  the 
land. 

About  the  year  1854,  there  settled  on  Matilda  Street  in 

Washington ville  an  Italian  family,  in  whom  the  neighbors 

took  great  interest;  for  at  all  times  of  the  day  there  issued 

from  the  house  the  sounds  of  either  vocal  or  instrumental 

music.    In  fact,  except  when  the  children  were  attending  the 

union  free  school  in  Mt.  Vernon,  musical  practice  seemed  to 

be  continuous.    These  Italians  were  the  Pattis,  and  two  of 

the  daughters  became  famous;  Carlotta,  as  both  a  pianist  and 

a  singer,  and  Adelina  as  the  owner  of  the  most  beautiful  voice 

and  as  the  most  finished  singer  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

421 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Right  on  the  boundary  line  of  the  city,  on  the  White  Plains 
Road,  is  situated  what  is  left  of  the  old  Penfleld  estate.  The 
large,  comfortable-looking  old  mansion  was  an  object  of  in- 
terest to  all  the  passengers  to  the  terminal  of  the  Union  Rail- 
way Company  at  242ft  Street ;  and  the  mansion  possessed  an 
air  of  dignity  that  age  only  can  produce.  Unfortunately,  the 
house  was  almost  destroyed  by  fire  on  the  morning  of  May  13, 
1 912.  In  view  of  the  building  of  the  subway  extension  to  this 
point  from  West  Farms,  and  the  growth  to  be  expected  from 
this  section  in  consequence,  the  early  demolition  of  the  house 
to  make  way  for  "flats"  was  to  have  been  expected. 

The  height  of  the  hills  above  the  river  valley  is  well  shown 
at  East  233d  Street,  the  northern  boundary  of  the  cemetery. 
There  was  formerly  a  very  dangerous  crossing  of  the  Harlem 
tracks  at  the  Woodlawn  station  on  this  street,  but  in  January, 
1905,  the  bridge  over  the  tracks  was  completed  and  opened. 

Mundy's  Lane  is  a  part  of  the  boundary  line  between  the 
Borough  and  Mount  Vernon;  it  is  an  ancient  road  leading  from 
Hunt's  Bridge  in  the  Mile  Square  to  the  Kingsbridge  (Boston) 
Road,  leading  to  Eastchester.  The  Kingsbridge  Road,  an 
ancient  highway  dating  back  to  1673,  takes  us  through  Eden- 
wald  to  near  old  St.  Paul's,  Eastchester,  though  over  the  city 
line.  Here  is  the  old  Seton  estate,  through  which  runs  Rattle- 
snake Brook,  upon  which  there  was  formerly  a  mill.  The 
site  of  the  old  mill  is  in  a  narrow  and  picturesque  gorge  where 
the  water  has  a  descent  of  about  thirty  feet  in  two  falls,  to 
which  the  name  of  Seton's  Falls  has  been  given.  It  has  been 
for  several  generations  a  favorite  place  for  a  stroll,  or  for  pic- 
nics by  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood.  In  the  spring, 
the  dogwood  blossoms  whiten  the  woods,  and  through  the 
whole  year  the  ground  is  carpeted  with  all  kinds  of  wild  flowers 
in  their  turn,  as  nature  here  has  full  sway  and  has  been  but 


Eastchester  and  Pelham  423 


little  interfered  with  by  man.  After  a  heavy  rain,  a  consider- 
able body  of  water  comes  over  the  falls,  which  add  to  the 
beauty  and  wildness  of  the  scene.  In  the  plan  of  streets 
adopted  in  1903,  provision  was  made  for  a  public  park  at  this 
place,  but  the  Park  Department  of  the  Borough  apparently 
knows  of  no  steps  taken  to  secure  the  property. 

Rattlesnake  Brook  crosses  the  Boston  (Coles)  Road;  to  the 
east  of  the  road,  the  stream  is  dammed,  forming  Holler's 
Pond,  from  which  the  ice  supply  of  the  neighborhood  is  cut 
and  upon  whose  frozen  surface  the  people  of  the  vicinity 
enjoy  the  sport  of  skating.  There  is  also  a  factory  for  the 
making  of  artificial  ice.  Near  this  pond  is  located  a  small 
settlement,  which  is  the  part  of  the  ancient  village  of  East- 
chester within  the  Borough.  A  lane  leads  down  the  neck  to 
Reid's  mill,  about  a  mile  from  the  Boston  Road.  This  lane 
used  to  be  a  very  beautiful  one;  but  in  1904  and  1905  most  of 
the  trees  were  cut  down  for  firewood  and  the  beauty  of  the 
landscape  has  been  much  decreased  in  consequence.  There 
are  several  magnificent  old  trees  on  the  Boston  Road  near  the 
entrance  to  the  lane,  but  these  may  suffer  from  the  grading 
of  the  post-road,  now  being  made  into  a  State  road.  At  the 
end  of  the  lane,  we  come  to  the  vast  salt  meadows  of  East- 
chester Creek,  which  stretch  away  for  several  miles,  and  over 
which  there  is  no  way  of  passing  on  foot,  unless  we  go  to 
Pelham  Bridge  on  the  south  or  to  the  Prospect  Hill  Road  on 
the  north.  These  meadows  are  not  without  their  pictur- 
esqueness,  and  Edward  Gay,  N.A.,  has  depicted  them  in  a 
number  of  his  pictures. 

In  the  olden  times,  the  end  of  the  lane  at  Eastchester  Creek 
was  called  Sander's  Landing.  In  1739,  there  was  erected  here 
a  tidal  mill  by  Thomas  Shute  and  Joseph  Stanton.  The  mill 
passed  through  several  hands  until  1766,  when  it  was  bought  by 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


John  Bartow,  who,  in  1790,  sold  it  to  John  Reid,  a  Scotchman, 
whose  son  Robert  was  the  last  miller.  The  mill  has  thus  been 
known  as  "Bartow's,"  but  more  commonly  as  "Reid's  mill." 
It  was  for  many  years  the  town  mill,  and  as  such  passed  into 
the  possession  of  the  city  of  New  York  at  the  time  of  annex- 
ation. It  was  a  great  barn-like  structure  of  wood  and  was 
blown  down  in  a  storm  about  1900,  so  that  nothing  now  re- 
mains of  it  except  the  foundation  stones.  Near-by  is  a  pictur- 
esque old  structure,  probably  the  home  of  the  miller,  the  oldest 
part  of  which,  so  it  is  said,  dates  from  1668. 

The  first  settlement  of  Eastchester  was  made  by  the  ten 
families  from  Fairfield,  Connecticut,  in  1664.  The  neck  upon 
which  the  mill  is  situated  formed  a  part  of  the  "planting  neck." 
As  stated  elsewhere,  the  two  settlements  of  Westchester  and 
Eastchester  were  closely  allied.  When  they  were  separated  in 
1667,  difficulties  arose  in  regard  to  the  undivided  lands  and 
their  ownership. 

The  importance  of  having  mills  and  craftsmen  of  various 
kinds,  especially  smiths  and  carpenters,  was  early  recognized, 
and  inducements  in  the  way  of  land  and  money  or  produce 
were  held  out  to  settlers  who  were  mechanics.  As  early  as 
1670,  there  is  a  record  of  John  Jackson  building  a  mill  for  the 
settlers  on  Rattlesnake  Brook,  probably  to  the  east  of  the 
Westchester  path,  about  where  Holler's  pond  is  located.  In 
1676,  permission  was  also  given  to  erect  mills  at  Silleck's 
Landing,  not  far  from  the  present  bridge  over  Hutchin- 
son's River,  at  the  Boston  Road.  No  mills  were  built 
here  till  1826,  when  a  mill  was  erected  nearer  the  bridge; 
but  it  only  stood  for  ten  years,  when  it  was  destroyed  by 
fire.  Silleck's  Landing  was  the  town  landing  at  which  the 
sloops  trading  by  way  of  Eastchester  Creek  with  the  outside 
world  tied  up;  it  is  now,  approximately,  the  Mt.  Vernon 


The  Old  House  near  ReidVMill,  about  1665-1670,  Eastchester. 


Th(  Vincent-Halsey  House,  for  Several  Months  the  Executive  Mansion  of 
President  John  Adams,  Eastchester. 


Eastchester  and  Pelham  425 


City  Dock,  on  the  south  side  of  the  churchyard  of  old  St. 
Paul's. 

In  1694,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  saw-mill,  and  to  determine  "the  conveaniancy  or 
unconveaniancy  of  and  for  the  said  saw-mill In  consequence , 
in  1696,  Colonel  Caleb  Heathcote  was  given  permission  to 
erect  a  mill  or  mills  on  Hutchinson's  River;  but  objection  was 
made  by  John  Pell,  who,  on  February  1,  1696/97,  had  been 
granted  permission  to  erect  a  mill  on  Rattlesnake  Brook, 
probably  the  one  at  Seton's  Falls.  It  was  worth  while  having 
a  man  like  Colonel  Heathcote  interested  in  improvements, 
and  so  the  town  made  him  a  new  grant  with  permission  to 
use  Rattlesnake  Creek  Brook;  it  is  likely  that  he  did  erect  a 
mill,  for  on  the  map  of  1704  showing  the  lands  in  dispute  with 
Westchester,  there  appears  the  drawing  of  a  house  and  the 
words  "Heathcote's  Mill,"  about  at  the  crossing. of  Rattle- 
snake Brook  and  the  Westchester  path. 

When  the  Dutch  regained  possession  of  New  York  in  1673 
and  1674,  the  inhabitants  of  both  Westchester  and  Eastchester 
gave  tkeir  allegiance  to  the  Dutch  governor  at  New  Orange 
and  were  allowed  by  Colve  three  schepens,  or  magistrates,  two 
for  the  former  and  one  for  the  latter  place.  John  Hoit  was 
the  schepen  for  Eastchester,  the  easternmost  of  the  settlements; 
and  directions  were  therefore  given  to  him  that  "he  is  not  to 
suffer  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever  to  pass  through 
Eastchester  to  or  from  New  England ;  except  they  can  produce 
a  royal  pass  or  license  from  authority  for  the  same." 

A  short  distance  this  side  of  the  bridge  by  which  the  Boston 
Road  crosses  the  Hutchinson  River,  a  pleasant  road  leads  down 
to  the  right  to  "  Invermere,"  known  in  ancient  days  as  Hunt's 
Landing.  There  is  a  famous  strawberry  farm  on  this  road 
a  short  distance  from  the  post-road.    A  few  hundred  rods 


426  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


above  Rattlesnake  Brook,  the  White  Plains  Road,  now  called 
Columbus  Avenue,  branches  off  to  the  left  and  passes  by  the 
ancient  green  in  front  of  old  St.  Paul's,  its  route  being  over 
the  old  Boston  Road  of  1673  for  some  distance.  As  it  sweeps 
down  the  hill,  it  passes  a  gateway  guarded  by  quaint  and  im- 
posing white  posts.  This  is  the  entrance  to  the  Halsey  place, 
which  was  the  executive  mansion  of  President  John  Adams 
in  October  and  November,  1797,  several  of  his  letters  being 
dated  from  Eastchester.  During  that  year,  Philadelphia,  the 
Federal  capital,  was  visited  by  yellow  fever,  and  Adams  took 
up  his  residence  in  the  Halsey  house,  then  occupied  by  his 
daughter  Abigail,  and  her  husband,  Colonel  William  Smith. 

During  the  Revolution,  the  communion  service,  the  Bible, 
and  other  valuables  presented  to  St.  Paul's  Church  by  Queen 
Anne,  were  buried  upon  this  property  and  dug  up  after  the 
war ;  this  was  to  prevent  them  from  being  looted  by  the  British, 
who  used  the  church  about  half  a  mile  above  for  a  hospital, 
and  who  frequently  occupied  this  section  in  force,  so  that  it 
thus  became  the  scene  of  many  a  raid  and  warlike  encounter. 

At  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  this  house  was  occupied  by 
the  Vincents,  the  smiths  of  the  village  of  Eastchester.  Upon 
one  occasion,  upon  a  Sunday,  a  French  officer  with  the  Ameri- 
cans insisted  upon  having  his  horse  shod;  and  upon  the 
refusal  of  Gilbert  Vincent  to  do  the  work  on  Sunday,  the 
officer  struck  him  to  the  ground,  killing  him.  Elijah  Vincent, 
then  took  a  commission  from  the  British  and  became  the  terror 
of  the  American  and  French  officers  who  had  occasion  to 
operate  in  the  vicinity  of  Eastchester.  According  to  authentic 
tradition,  Elijah  Vincent  fully  revenged  his  brother's  violent 
death. 

The  references  to  wolf  pits  and  bounties  offered  for  the  ex- 
termination of  the  wolves  show  that  there  were  many  of  these 


The  Marshall  House  on  Rodman's  Neck,  the  Type  of  Mansion  Erected  in  this 

Section  before  1850. 


The  New  City  Island  Bridge. 
COttrtety  of  the  Department  of  Bridges.  New  York  City. 


Eastchester  and  Pelham  427 


animals  in  the  ancient  township.  Where  wolves  abound, 
there  also  are  deer;  and  the  finding  of  quantities  of  arrow- 
heads and  other  implements  of  the  chase  shows  that  this  was 
a  favorite  hunting-ground  of  the  Indians.  No  signs  of  per- 
manent habitation  have  been  discovered,  and  it  is  supposed 
that  the  Siwanoys  occupied  the  land  only  when  hunting; 
that  they  claimed  ownership  that  was  admitted  by  the  whites 
is  shown  by  the  early  Indian  deeds  secured  by  the  first  settlers. 

Several  years  ago,  the  National  Government  deepened  the 
channel  of  Eastchester  Creek,  straightened  its  course,  and 
dredged  out  a  basin  so  that  vessels  could  ascend  the  stream 
at  high  tide  and  discharge  their  cargoes  at  the  docks  at  East- 
chester. Regular  steamboats  carrying  freight  made  daily 
trips  to  and  from  New  York  as  late  as  1900. 

This  section  is  still  rural ;  and  though  there  has  been  trolley 
connection  with  Mt.  Vernon  for  a  number  of  years,  there  has 
been  little  advancement  until  recently.  The  Boston  and 
Westchester  Railroad  will  be  the  cause  of  Eastchester's  im- 
provement. The  making  of  the  Boston  Post-road  into  a 
State  road  will  also  tend  to  open  up  the  section,  for,  if  we 
judge  from  the  past,  it  will  not  be  long  before  it  will  be  torn 
to  pieces  to  lay  trolley  tracks. 

Nearly  all  of  the  part  of  the  town  of  Pelham  that  was  taken 
within  the  city  of  New  York  is  included  within  Pelham  Bay 
Park.  There  is  a  small  section  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Boston 
Road  not  included  in  the  park,  and  also  City  Island ;  the  first 
part  is  negligible. 

City  Island  may  be  reached  by  train  on  the  Suburban  branch 
of  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  Railroad  to 
Bartow  station.  Until  within  a  year,  a  one-horse,  bob-tailed 
car,  a  relic  of  former  days,  used  to  connect  with  each  train, 
and,  for  a  fare  of  five  cents,  the  passenger  was  taken  to  Mar- 


428  The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


shall's  Corners  at  the  end  of  Rodman's  Neck;  for  an  additional 
fare,  he  was  carried  to  the  end  of  the  island.  In  1 910,  a  mono- 
rail electric  line  was  inaugurated ;  but  its  first  day  of  business 
was  an  unfortunate  one,  for  the  car  met  with  an  accident  and 
several  people  were  killed.  The  road  has  been  run  since  with 
more  or  less  success ;  but  at  this  writing,  the  rolling  stock  has 
decreased  to  one  car;  and  that  is  uncertain  in  its  operation 
when  the  weather  is  bad,  or  windy — the  very  time  when  one 
most  wants  to  use  the  line. 

City  Island  was  originally  called  Minnewits,  or  Great  Min- 
nefords,  Island.  The  origin  of  the  name  is  doubtful,  it  being 
ascribed  to  Peter  Minuits,  the  Dutch  Governor  and  purchaser 
of  the  island  of  Manhattan,  and  also  to  Minnefords,  Minifers, 
or  Minnewies,  the  original  Indian  proprietors.  It  was  within 
Thomas  Pell's  purchase  of  1654,  and  also  within  his  manor- 
grant  of  Pelham.  It  received  its  name  of  City  Island  from  a 
scheme  of  the  inhabitants  of  1761-62  to  establish  upon  the 
island  a  city  that  was  to  outrival  New  York.  General  Heath 
uses  the  name  "New  City  Island"  in  his  Memoirs,  so  that  the 
name  must  have  been  well  established  in  Revolutionary  days. 

On  May  10,  1763,  a  ferry  was  established  "acroost  from 
Mr.  Samuel  Rodman's  Neck  to  said  Island."  The  same  year 
a  ferry  was  established  from  the  north  end  of  the  island  and 
leased  to  Mrs.  Deborah  Hicks,  "the  best  and  fairest  [sic] 
bidder."  On  May  13,  1766,  a  ferry  was  established  between 
the  south  end  of  the  island  across  the  Sound  to  Long  Island; 
it  was  leased  to  John  Barnes  for  five  years. 

The  first  purchaser  from  Thomas  Pell,  the  manor-lord,  was 
John  Smith,  of  the  town  of  Bruckland  [Brooklyn].  The 
i  land,  on  June  19,  1 761,  came  into  possession  of  Benjamin 
Palmer,  the  builder  of  the  free  bridge  at  Spuyten  Duyvil,  for 
£2730.    He  appears  to  have  suffered  considerable  loss  during 


Eastchester  and  Pelham  429 


the  war;  for,  in  1788,  he  sent  a  petition  to  "His  Excellency, 
George  Clinton,  Esq.,  Governor  in  and  over  the  State  of  New- 
York,  and  Vice- Admiral  of  the  Navy  of  the  same,"  for  relief. 
This  failing,  he  again  petitioned  for  redress  of  grievances  in 

1789,  this  time  to  "His  Excellency,  George  Washington, 
President  of  the  United  States."  His  distress  was  mitigated 
by  a  subscription,  as  told  elsewhere. 

The  Revolution  prevented  the  accomplishment  of  the  plan 
of  building  a  city  upon  the  island,  though  it  was  revived  in 

1 790.  The  island  was  cut  up  into  4500  lots,  each  twenty-five 
feet  front  and  one  hundred  feet  in  depth,  besides  two  squares, 
of  thirty  lots  each,  reserved  for  churches,  meeting-houses, 
schools,  etc.  Ten  pounds  was  the  stated  price  of  the  lots, 
and  many  were  bought  and  sold  at  that  price.  In  181 8, 
Nicholas  Haight  and  Joshua  Husted  owned  nearly  all  of  the 
island,  as  well  as  Rodman's  Neck  and  what  became  later 
the  Marshall  estate.  In  the  year  following,  forty-two  acres 
passed  into  the  possession  of  George  W.  Horton. 

In  1804,  the  State  Legislature  passed  an  act  allowing  the 
construction  of  a  bridge  between  the  island  and  the  mainland 
and  subscriptions  were  started  for  its  erection ;  but  the  attempt 
failed  for  want  of  support.  On  December  1,  1873,  a  toll 
bridge,  erected  by  a  stock  company,  was  thrown  open  to  the 
public.  It  occupied  the  site  of  the  bridge  laid  down  on  the 
map  of  1 761.  It  was  one  thousand  feet  long  with  a  draw  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet;  the  draw  being  that  of  the 
original  Coles,  or  Harlem  Bridge,  at  Third  Avenue.  A  large 
part  of  the  materials  used  in  its  construction  came  from  the 
old  United  States  frigate  North  Carolina,  which  had  been 
condemned  and  sold  by  the  National  Government.  This 
bridge  was  made  a  free  bridge  in  1895,  at  the  time  of  annex- 
ation, and  was  replaced  by  the  present  fine  steel  structure, 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


constructed  at  a  cost  of  $200,000,  not  including  approaches, 
which  was  opened  for  public  use  on  July  4,  1901.  Work  had 
been  begun  upon  it  in  December,  1898. 

Notwithstanding  the  ferry  and  the  bridge,  City  Island  had 
been  more  or  less  isolated  before  the  opening  of  Pelham  Bay 
Park,  in  1888,  and  the  advent  of  the  bicycle.  The  inhabitants 
were  engaged  chiefly  in  fishing,  piloting,  and  oyster  culture. 
The  fishing  was  formerly  very  fine,  and  upon  a  Sunday  or 
other  holiday  the  old  bridge  was  lined  with  ardent  anglers. 
The  demolition  of  the  old  wooden  bridge  has  driven  many  of 
the  anglers  to  the  wharf  at  the  south  end  of  the  island,  at  the 
end  of  the  island's  one  long  thoroughfare.  In  1762,  the 
owners  of  the  island  petitioned  for  four  hundred  feet  under 
water,  and  the  land  was  granted  to  them  by  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Cadwallader  Colden,  May  27,  1763.  When  the 
new  wharf  was  built  at  the  lower  end  of  the  island  in  1901, 
we  find  Mrs.  De  Lancey  asserting  her  claims  to  the  land  under 
water  as  an  inheritrix  of  the  ancient  grant,  but  the  case  was 
decided  against  her.  The  nearest  railroad  station  is  at  Bartow, 
about  two  miles  distant  from  the  business  activities  of  the 
island,  so  the  people  have  had  to  depend  to  a  great  extent 
upon  water  communication. 

There  are  several  yacht  clubs  located  here,  and  the  activities 
connected  with  the  water  constitute  the  principal  business 
of  the  island.  Several  shipyards  build  and  repair  pleasure 
vessels,  and  in  the  winter  season  many  of  the  crack  yachts 
are  laid  up  and  housed  here.  Upon  several  occasions  the 
defenders  of  the  America's  Cup  have  been  so  laid  up.  The 
yachting  industry  is  principally  with  sailing  vessels ;  in  stormy 
weather,  many  sailing  vessels  from  the  Sound  find  safe  anchor- 
age near  the  island  until  the  weather  moderates. 

There  are  numerous  bathing  pavilions,  and  the  bathing  is 


/ 


Eastchester  and  Pelham  431 


considered  healthful,  as  the  island  extends  so  far  into  the 
Sound,  and  the  great  water-front  of  Pelham  Bay  Park  with  its 
lack  of  villages  and  towns  prevents  the  contamination  of  the 
water  by  sewage.  Row-boats,  sail-boats,  and  small  launches 
are  plentiful ;  and  there  are  dozens  of  places  at  which  they  can 
be  hired  for  sailing  and  fishing,  while  several  of  the  hotels  and 
restaurants  have  more  than  a  local  fame.  The  fishing  has 
always  been  famous,  though  fallen  off  within  the  past  quarter 
of  a  century,  according  to  the  local  anglers.  Bolton  gives 
some  marvellous  stories  of  successful  catches,  both  as  to  in- 
dividual sizes  of  fish  and  to  quantity,  and  as  he  was  a  clergy- 
man we  are,  perforce,  obliged  to  believe  him. 

So  self-contained  and  isolated  were  the  population  that  when, 
after  annexation,  so  the  story  goes,  one  of  the  assistant  super- 
intendents of  schools  of  the  city  visited  the  local  school  for 
purposes  of  inspection,  the  population  waited  upon  him  en 
masse  and  notified  him  that  they  had  been  able  to  get  along 
for  over  a  century  without  supervision,  and  that  they  did  not 
propose  to  have  their  teachers  and  children  bothered  by  super- 
intendents from  the  city.  They  have,  however,  conformed  to 
the  inevitable,  and  now  have  a  fine,  modern  building,  in  which 
the  city  provides  not  only  instruction  for  the  children,  but 
once  a  week,  from  October  to  May,  also  furnishes  a  free  lecture 
in  the  evening.  The  colonial  entrance  to  the  school  building 
seems  peculiarly  fitting  to  the  locality. 

Probably,  the  greatest  object  of  interest  on  the  island  is  the 
"Macedonian  Hotel."    It  bears  the  following  legend: 

This  House  is  the  remains  of  the  English  Frigate  "Macedo- 
nian'' captured  on  Sunday,  October  25th,  1812,  by  the  United 
States  Frigate  "United  States,"  commanded  by  Capt.  Stephen 
Decatur,  U.  S.  N.  The  action  was  fought  in  Lat.  240  N.,  Long. 
2Q°3o'  W.,  that  is  about  600  miles  N.  W.  of  the  Cape  De  Verde 


The  Story  of  The  Bronx 


Islands  off  the  W.  coast  of  Africa  and  towed  to  Cowbay  in 

1874. 

All  of  which  is  true,  if  we  omit  the  first  words  of  the  state- 
ment: "This  House  is  the  Remains  of";  though  I  do  not 
accuse  the  owner  of  the  hotel  of  intentionally  misleading  the 
public.  Besides,  the  house  is  the  remains  of  the  Macedonian, 
but  not  of  the  one  captured  in  Decatur's  gallant  action.  The 
original  British  Macedonian  was  a  new  ship  at  the  time  of  her 
capture,  and  was  afterward  repaired  and  taken  into  the  United 
States  Navy.  She  was  blockaded  in  the  Thames  River, 
Connecticut,  until  the  close  of  the  War  of  18 12,  and  then 
served  as  a  cruiser  until  1828,  after  which  she  did  nothing. 
In  1835,  sne  was  broken  up  at  the  Norfolk,  Virginia,  navy 
yard.  Meanwhile,  Congress  appropriated  funds  to  build  a 
new  ship  of  the  same  name,  which  was  commenced  in  1832 
and  launched  at  Gosport,  Virginia,  in  1836.  She  was  rebuilt 
at  Brooklyn  in  1852,  and  broken  up  in  1874  at  C°w  Bay,  Long 
Island,  that  graveyard  of  condemned  and  obsolete  vessels. 
For  a  time,  this  second,  American-built  Macedonian  was  used 
as  a  practice  ship  at  the  United  States  Naval  Academy  at 
Annapolis,  where  the  figure-head  of  the  original  British  frigate 
is  still  preserved  as  a  relic  of  the  heroic  days  of  our  infant  navy. 1 

1  From  The  United  States  Naval  Academy,  by  Park  Benjamin;  with 
some  slight  changes  and  additions  by  the  author. 


INDEX 


Acadians,  281,  282,  284 
Accidents,  railroad,  234,  334,  428 
Accidents,  steamboat,  334,  378 
Ackerman,  William  G.,  326 
Adams,  President  John,  133,  178, 
426 

Adirondacks,  foot-note,  197 
Advowson,  55,  75 
Agriculture,  86,  87,  89,  103,  391 
Agreement  (or  Association),  Non- 
importation, 104,  121 
Albany,  24,  25 

Albany  Post-road,  127,  128,  154, 
156,  164,  176,  185,  188,  197,  212, 
215,  217,  296,  327,  336 

Albert  the  Trumpeter,  35 

Aldermen,  8,  246,  248,  292 

Allan,  Mr.-,  351,  352 

Allen,  Jacamiah,  124 

Alliance,  French,  107 

Alsop,  John,  116 

American  Army,  114,  119,  137,  138, 

142,  143,  147,  150,  171,  174,  297 
American  Bank  Note  Company,  386 
American  Bridge  Company,  236 
American  Jockey  Club,  290 
American  Realty  Company,  403, 
405 

Amusements,  colonial,  108,  109 

Andriessen,  Peter,  27 

Andros,  Governor  Edmund,  64,  65, 

68,  70,  251,  319 
Animals,  domestic,  89 
Animals,  wild,  86,  89,  302,  309 
Annes  Hoeck,   5,   23,   29,  56,  57, 

185,  309 
Annexation,  5,  6,  7,  8 
Annexed  District,  7,  17,  196,  242, 

243.  357 
Annhooke  (Wampage),  51 
Aquahung,  16,  26,  304 
Aqueannoncke,  17 
Aqueduct  Avenue,  217,  350 


Aqueduct,  Catskill,  204,  337,  340 
Aqueduct,  Croton,  203,  204,  285, 

293,  340,  357 
Arboriculture,  416 
Archer,  Benjamin,  62,  348 
Archer,  John,  59,  60,  62,  64,  185, 

211,  275,  276,  356,  396 

Archer,  Samuel,  349 
Archer  house,  166,  348,  349 
Area  of  Borough,  7 
Armories,  II,  337 
Arms,  military,  120,  121,  127 
Arnold,  General  Benedict,  170,  340 
Artillery,  II,  144,  146,  148,  337 
Asylum,  R.  C.  Deaf  and  Dumb,  411 
Athletic  fields,  317,  318,  320,  341, 

346,  348 
AylyfFe  Brothers,  376 

Babcock,  Rev.  Luke,  115,  258 

Baldwin,  Colonel,  143,  144,  146 

Bailey  Avenue,  342,  343,  346 

Bailey  estate,  343 

Balloons,  291 

Baly,  Rev.  Mr.,  252,  279 

Baptists,  287 

Baremore,  Major,  152,  160,  165, 

166,  387 
Barlow,  S.  L.  M.,  290 
Barnes,  Capt.  William,  253 
Barrett's  Creek,  402 
Barretto,  Francis,  22,  385,  386,  387 
Barretto's  Point,  22,  381,  385,  386, 

388 

Bartow  mansion,  314 

Bartow  station,  310,  311,  427,  430 

Bartow,  Basil,  99,  100 

Bartow,  John,  262,  424 

Bartow,  Rev.  John,  97,  98,  99,  106, 

219,  256,  257,  273,  279,  280 
Bartow,  Rev.  Theodosius,  262 
Bartow,  Theophilus,  119 
Bassett,  Robert,  252 


434 


Index 


Bathgate,  Alexander,  318 

Bathgate,  James,  290,  318 

Bath-houses,  310,  430 

Battery,  Second,  N.  G.,  S.  N.Y.,11 

Bayard,  Nicholas,  69 

Bayard,  Samuel,  262 

Bayard,  Col.  Samuel  Vetch,  412 

Bayard,  William,  412 

Baychester,  19,  309,  310 

Baxter,  Capt.  Charles,  392 

Baxter's  Creek,  18 

Beach  Pneumatic  Railway  Com- 
pany, 243 

Bear  Swamp,  100,  213,  290,  343, 
417 

Beck,  Charles  Bathgate,  281 
Bedford,  114,  169 
Bedford  Park,  356 
Bellomont,  Governor  Lord,  80 
Belmont,  342,  355,  356 
Berkeley  Oval,  348 
Berrien  family,  329 
Berrien  mansion,  329 
Berrien,  Samuel,  330 
Berrien's  Landing,  217,  346 
Berrien's  Neck,  21,  327 
Bethel  M.  E.  Church,  287 
Betts,  William,  60,  79,  81,  82,  184, 
293 

Beyse,  Rev.  Henricus,  277 
Birkins,  Daniel,  197 
Bison,  302,  308 
Bitter,  Karl,  333 

Black  Dog  Brook,  5,  6,  19,  220,  419 
Black  Rock  farm,  57, 402 
Blauzes,  the,  20 

Bleach,  Bolton's,  194,  305,  307,  417 

Block,  Adrien,  39 

"Blythe  Place"  estate,  386 

B'nai  David  congregation,  288 

Board  of  Trade,  North  Side,  10,  11, 
231,  37o,  384 

Bockett's  cot,  386 

Bogardus,  Dominie  Everardus,  28 

Bolton,  Reginald  Pelham,  129 

Bolton,  Robert,  417 

Bolton,  Rev.  Robert,  20,  39,  60,  62, 
267,275,283,318,431 

Bonaparte,  Joseph,  315 

Bonner,  Robert,  290 

Borough  Hall,  318,  377 

Boston  Post-road,  123,  127,  128, 
144,  146,  149,  156,  167,  212,  214, 
215,  216,  240,  245,  280,  304,  308, 
322,  335,  336,  342,  391,  417,  419, 
422,  423,  426,  427 


Botanical  Society  and  Gardens,  307, 
351,  356 

Boundary  disputes,  36,  37,  39,  41, 

42,  43,  47 
Bound  Brook,  43 
Bowne  house,  145,  311 
Bowne,  Sydney  B.,  398 
Breda,  Treaty  of,  46 
Brewster,  Rev.  Mr.,  252 
Bridges,  179,  184,  190,  204,  206, 
214,  226,  236,  307,  331, 405,  424 
Central  (Macomb's  Dam),  14,  15, 
16,  65,  198,  201,  202,  240,  350 
City  Island,  310,  316,  429 
Farmers'    (Free,    Dyckman,  or 
Hadley's),  128,  190,  191,  192, 
195,  196,  217,  343 
Harlem  (Third  Avenue),  192,  193, 

195,  196,  215,  240,  370,  429 
High,  5,  15,  16,  166,  203,  222, 

228,  331,  350 
Hudson  Memorial,  333 
King's,  149,  150,  185,  187,  188, 

189,  195,212,296,329,335 
Lenox  Avenue,  206,  240 
Madison  Avenue,  204,  205,  240, 

369 

Park  Avenue  railroad,  205,  207, 

229,  232 

Pelham,  220,  221,  309,  317 
Pontoon,  129,  133,  168,  169,  330, 
349 

Putnam  railroad,  207,  238 
Second  Avenue  railroad,  207,  242 
Spuyten  Duyvil  railroad,  207 
University  Heights,  207 
Washington,  205,  206,  240,  331, 
350 

Williams's,  128,  158,  184,  215, 
216,  304,  322,  356 

Willis  Avenue,  206 
Bridges,  Thomas,  no 
Bridges,  Mrs.  Thomas  (see  Sarah 

Cornell) 
"  Brightside  "  estate,  380 
Bristow,  George  H.,  376 
British  army,  94,  119,  125,  137,  138, 

156,  160,  176,  297 
British  evacuation,  150,  175 
Broadway,  181,  185,  187,  188,  192, 

296,  335,  336 
Broadway- Lexington  Avenue  route, 

243,  247 
Brockett's  Neck,  410 
Bronk,   Antonia   (Slagboom),  27, 

28 


Index 


435 


Bronk,  Jonas,  16,  26,  27,  28,  62,  75, 
104,  389 

Bronk,  Peter,  28 

Bronx  Beautiful  Society,  12 

Bronx,  Borough  of  The,  1,  6,  7,  8, 
10,  11,  12,  14,  18,  26,  39,  40,  47, 
56,  69,  86,  107,  114,  119,  122,  133, 
147,  151,  175,  177,  179,  247,  248, 
249 

Bronx  Chapter,  D.  A.  R.,  303,  311 
Bronx  County,  10 
Bronxdale,  194,  213,  304,  343,  417 
Bronx  Kills,  5,29, 105, 135, 192,360, 
364,  366 

Bronx  Park,  42,  243,  291,  304,  309, 

351,  354,  356,  389,  401,  417 
Bronx  River,  2,  5,  7,  9,  16,  17,  18, 
26,  39,  42,  47,  49,  60,  79,  128,  141, 
147,  148,  149,  158,  167,  184,  194, 
202,  209,  214,  229,  304,  356,  357, 
385,418 

Bronx  Society  of  Arts  and  Sciences, 
12 

Brook  Avenue,  16,  193 
Brooklyn,  Borough  of,  1,  131,  177 
Brouncksland,  28,  29,  43,  48,  56,  63, 

64,  75,  179 

Browne,  Josiah,  262 

Brownson  Literary  Society,  foot- 
note, 382 

Bryant,  Captain,  158 

Buckhout,  Mathias,  81 

Bungay  Creek,  5,  16,  29,  42,  318, 
38i 

Bunker  Hill,  loss  at,  147 
Burgoyne,  Lieut.-Gen.  John,  160, 

261,  415 
Burial  Point,  410 

Burnside  Avenue,  129, 149,347,349 
Burr,  Colonel  Aaron,  17,  137,  167, 
191,  360 

Burying-grounds,  263, 266,  271,  274, 
276,  281,  284,  287,  301,  313,  320, 
346,  382,  386,  392 

Bussing  Avenue,  215 

Bussing's  Point,  198 

Byram  River,  211 

Byvanck,  Tryntje,  83,  104 

Cabots,  John  and  Sebastian,  24,  39 
Cadwallader,  Col.  Lambert,  150 
Calver,  W.  L.,  129 
Campbell  estate,  201 
Camping  out,  316 
Canal,  Erie,  364 

Mott  Haven,  367-370 


Ship,  188,  196,  207,  331 
Cannon,  118,  123,  124,  127 
Carleton,  Sir  Guy,  174,  175,  298 
Casanova,  Innocencia,  388 
Casting,  Samuel,  279 
Castle  Hill  Neck,  15,  18,  22,  211, 

213,374,  405,409,  413 
Cathcart,  Lord,  155 
Catholics,  Roman,   69,   251,  281, 

282,  283,  284,  285,  324,  325 
Cauldwell,  State  Senator,  6,  394 
Causeways,  140,  141,  184,  185,  188, 

212,  220,  234,  312,  315,  317,  336, 

356,  377,  398,  402,  412,  413 
Cedar  of  Lebanon,  416 
Cedar  Park,  291,  292 
Cemeteries,  321,  392 
Census,  2,  8,  9 
Central  Bridge  (see  Bridges) 
Century  House,  207 
Chandler,  Rev.  Dr.,  261,  408 
Charles  I.,  63 
Charles  II.,  45,  68 
Charities  Department,  20,  365 
Charter,  New  York  City,  7,  8,  68 
Chastellux,  Marquis  de,  168,  170 
Chester  Improvement  District,  8, 

292,  312 
Chimney  Sweeps,  the,  20 
Christian  Brothers,  400,  404 
"Christ's  Hotel,"  360 
Church  of  England  (see  Established 

Church) 
Churches,  Baptist,  287 

Congregational,  288 

Episcopalian,  254,  257,  261,  262, 
263,  267,  271,  272,  280,  285, 
312,  355 

Established,  70,  97,  98,  100,  1 15, 
255,  257,  258,  273,  277,  279, 
280,  284 

Lutheran,  288 

Methodist,  285,  286,  287,  419 
Moravian,  288 

Presbyterian,  280,  281,  392,  412 
Reformed  Dutch,  62,  101,  213, 

275,  276,  278 
Roman  Catholic,  283,  284,  285, 

325 

City  Island,  5,  18,  20,  23,  56,  131, 
143,  144,  160,  161,  196,  210,  287, 
310,  427,  428,  429,  430 
City  Island  Bridge  (see  Bridges) 
City  Island  Road,  145, 221, 310, 312 
Civil  War,  the,  19,  292,  392,  393 
Claflin,  Horace  B.,  278 


/ 


436 


Index 


Claremont,  371 

Claremont  Park,  16,  289, 291, 319 
Clark,  Daniel,  97,  IOO 
Clason,  Isaac,  404 
Clason's  Point,  22,  208,  284,  403, 
413 

Clason's  Point  Military  Academy, 
404 

Clemm,  Mrs.,  352 

Clemm,  Virginia  (Mrs.  Edgar  Allan 

Poe),  352,  353 
Clendennin,  Rev.  Frank  M.,  265 
Clergymen,  251,  263,  277,  279,  286 
Clinton,  Governor  (Royal)  George, 

82 

Clinton,  Gen.  and  Gov.  George,  131, 
142,  176,298,326,  363.429 

Clinton,  Gen.  Sir  Henry,  160,  168, 
302 

Clinton,  Col.  James,  119,  143 
Club-houses,  rowing,  372 
Cock  Hill,  125,  126,  134,  150,  178, 
330,  333 

Colden,  Lieut.-Gov.  Cadwallader, 

-"57-  430 
Colen  Donck,  48,  59,  60,  78,  81 
Coles,  John  B.,  193,  194,  202,  215, 

304,  370,  39i 
College  Point,  204 
Collegiate  Reformed  Dutch  Church, 

276 

Colonial  Dames,  Society  of,  294 
Columbia  University,  341 
Colve,  Governor,  57, 64, 66, 275, 425 
Comfort,  Lucy  Randall,  376 
Commissioners  of  Forfeiture,  191, 

325,  326,  327 
Committee  of  Safety,  121,  302,  360 
Concourse,  the  (see  Grand  Boule- 
vard). 

Congregationalists,  279,  288 
Congress,  Continental,  84,  107,  115, 

116,  118,  119,  133,  137,  142,  157, 

274,  338,  359,  360 
C  ongress,  Federal,  3 
Congressmen,  8 

Connecticut,  1,  35, 38, 42, 47, 49,  56, 
1 14,  120,  123,  151,  211,  280,  414 

Constitution,  the  Federal,  107,  360, 
361 

Convent,  326 

Convention,  Constitutional,  360 
Convention,  County,  115,  116 
Conway,  General  Thomas,  338 
Cook,  Joseph,  197 
Cook,  Walter,  333 


Cooper,  James  Fenimore,  83,  189, 
383,  415 

Cooper,  Rev.  Dr.  Myles,  261,  408 
Corbin,  Austin,  302 
Cornbury,  Gov.  Lord,  53,  225,  279 
Cornell,  Sarah,  31,  57,  84,  no 
Cornell,  Thomas,  31,  49,  57,  84,  401 
Cornell's  Neck,  18,  22,  48,  57,  385, 
401 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  149, 153, 165, 171, 

210,  302 
Corpus  Christi  monastery,  386 
Corsa,  Andrew,  155,  171 
Corsa,  Capt.  Isaac,  281 
Cosby,  Gov.  William,  74,  75,  77 
Coster,  Charles  H.,  237 
Council  of  Nine,  34 
Counties,  1,  2,  67,  70,  397 
County-seat,  220,  221,  397,  398 
Court-house,  220,  254,  396,  397, 398 
Court-house,  new,  375 
Courts,  8,  55,  57,  58,  61 
Cowboy  tree,  328 
Cowboys,  129,  153 
Crab  Island,  16,  19,  65,  372 
Crimes,  95,  96 
Crimmins,  John  D.,  386 
Croaker  Papers,  384 
Cromwell  families,  374,  407 
Cromwell  house,  374 
Cromwell's  Creek,  15,  16,  65,  105, 

217,292,320,374 
Cromwell's  Neck  (see  Castle  Hill 

Neck). 
Cromwell,  James,  375 
Cromwell,  Col.  John,  374 
Cromwell,  John  and  Elizabeth,  407, 

409 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  63,  374,  409 
Crosby,  Enoch  (Harvey  Birch),  155 
Crossings,  railroad,  334,  405, 422 
Croton  River,  17,  79,  202 
Crotona  Improvement  District,  8 
Crotona  Park,  16,  291,  318,  319,  377 
Crotona  Parkway,  320 
Cruger,  Captain,  i56 
Cunningham,  Capt.  William,  150 
Curling,  300 

Curtis,  Captain,  144,  146 
Cushing,  Captain,  168 

Dams,  187,  193,  195,  198,  199,  200, 

202,  294,  300,  305,  356 
Dash's  Lane,  217,  334 
Dash  wood,  G.  L.,  349 
Dater  Brothers,  289 


Index 


437 


Davis,  Albert  E.,  foot-note,  370 
Dawson,  Henry  B.,  115,  376 
Dayts,  Lourent,  27 
Dead,  list  of  historic,  268,  269,  270 
De  Armond,  Colonel,  155,  165,  166, 

298,  354,  387 
Debatable  land,  43,  381,  386 
Decatur,  Commodore  Stephen,  431 
Declaration  of  Independence,  84, 

261,358,  359 
De  Conninck,  Captain,  36,  209 
Deer,  53,  86,89,427 
Delaneld,  Joseph,  327 
De  Lancey  family,  113,  114,  115, 

389 

De  Lancey  mansion,  89,  305,  390 
De  Lancey,  Etienne  (or  Stephen), 
82,  104 

De  Lancey,  Judge  James,  74,  77,  78, 
82,  83 

De  Lancey,  Lieut. -Col.  James,  83, 

107,  129,  151,  155,  162,  163,  166, 

168,  169,  171,  172,  173,  305,  330, 

348,  39i 
De  Lancey,  John,  72,  83 
De  Lancey,  John  Peter,  83 
De  Lancey,  Oliver,  20,  84,  151 
De  Lancey,  Peter,  72 
De  Lancey,  Peter  (of  the  Mills),  83, 

104,  151,  259 
De  Lancey,  Susan  Augusta  (Mrs. 

J.  Fenimore  Cooper),  83 
De  Lancey 's  Mills,  104,  154,  158, 

162,  167,  170,  214,  281,  305,  356, 

389 

De  Lancey's  pine,  305,  306 
Delaval,  Mayor,  180 
Delavall,  Thomas,  60,  78,  105 
Delpech,  schoolmaster,  98 
Depredations  by  troops,  134,  135, 

154,  175,  261,  346 
Dermer,  Capt.  Thomas,  40 
Dervall,  John,  80 
De  Voe  Park,  32 

Devoe\;Neck  (or  Point),  15,65, 198, 

218,  350,  371,  372 
De  Vries,  Pietrus  Rudolphus,  79,  81 
Dewilt,  Clause,  81 
De  Witt,  Charles,  280 
Dexter,  290 

Disciples  of  Christ,  2d  Church  of  the, 

288 

Dissenters,  253,  254,  258,  259,  274, 

279 

Dissisway,  Marcus,  65 
Districts,  Local  Improvement,  8 


Dobbs  Ferry,  149,  159,  160,  171, 
176 

Dogwood  Brook,  14 

Dongan,  Gov.  Thomas,  66,  68,  80, 

225,  410 
"Dorman's  Island,"  317,  409 
Doughty,  Elias,  59,  60,  61,  78,  81, 

184,  211 
Doughty,  Mary,  32,  35,  59 
Draft  riots,  393 

Dragoons,  Legion  (Tarleton's),  163, 
322 

Moylan's,  161,  164 

Sheldon's,  155,  161,  170,  172 
Drake,  Gilbert,  118 
Drake,  Col.  Joseph,  119 
Drake,  Joseph  Rodman,  17,  394, 
_  305,  382,  383,384,  385 
Drake,  Major  Moses,  119 
Dress,  Colonial,  90,  91 
Drill  grounds,  300,  317 
Duane,  James,  116 
Duke  of  York  and  Albany  (James 

II-),  39,  46,  47,  49,  55,  65,  68, 

183 

Dunderberg,  the,  345. 

Dutch,  48,  57,  65,  66,  70,  86,  93,  96, 

253,  275,  276,  277,  425 
Dutch  garden,  299 
Dutchess  County,  48,  280 
Dyckman  family,  155 
Dyckman,  Abraham,  172,  173 
Dyckman,  Jacob,  190 
Dyckman,  Michael,  168 
Dyckman's  Bridge  (see  Farmers' 

Bridge) 

East  Albany,  233 

East  Bay  Land  and  Improvement 
Company,  388 

Eastchester,  2,  5,  6,  7,  19,  50,  51, 53, 
57,  77,  97,  114,  ii9,  123,  133, 144, 
152,  164,  166,  170,  171,  173,  176, 
184,  193,  194,  195,  209,211,214, 
229,253,279,421,423,424 

Eastchester  Bay,  15,  18,  20,  23,  30, 
140,  143,  309 

Eastchester  Bridge  Company,  317 

Eastchester  Church,  (see  St.  Paul's, 
Eastchester) 

Eastchester  Creek,  18,  19,  20,  52, 
104,  160,  185,  220,  423,  427 

Eastchester  Parish,  256,  257 

Eastchester  Road,  219,  417 

East  Melrose,  371 

East  Morrisania,  371 


438 


Index 


East  River,  i,  5,  15,  16,  18,  21,  39, 
42,  49,  56,  64,  131,  135,  139,  170, 
177,  185 

East  Tremont,  342 

Echo  Park,  320,  351 

Edenwald,  422 

Edict  of  Nantes,  82 

Edsall,  Samuel,  29,  63 

Edsall,  Thomas  Henry,  130,  340 

Edson,  Mayor  Franklin,  291 

Education,  96,  97,  98,  99,  100,  101, 
102,  114 

Eighth  Regiment,  N.  G.,  S.  N.  Y., 
337 

Electric  Traction,  234,  236,238,240, 
428 

Eliot  Samuel  (quoted),  44 
Elm  Cottage,  353 
Eltona,  371 
Emmaus,  27,  28 

Emmerick,  Lieut. -Col.,  152,  154, 
155,  160,  162,  163,  167,  278,  297, 
346,  39i 

Emmons,  Adjutant  Abraham,  120 
Enos,  Colonel,  160 
Entail,  293,  410 

Estimate     and  Apportionment, 

Board  of,  8,  9 
Evacuation,  British,  of  New  York, 

150,  176 

Farm,  the  Grove,  42,  410,  411 

Farmer,  Father  (see  Steinmeyer) 

Farmers'  Bridge  (see  Bridges) 

Farragut,  Admiral  David  G.,  323 

Farragut,  Loyall,  323 

Farragut,  Virginia  D.,  323 

Fay,  The  Culprit,  383 

Featherbed  Lane,  217,  218 

Federalists,  361,  363 

Fellows,  General,  142 

Ferries,  22,  179,  182,  183,  185,  186, 

192,  208,  226,  396,  404,  411, 428 
Ferris  Avenue,  411 
Ferris,  James,  116 
Ferris,  John,  56,  41 1 
Ferris  Neck,  22,  411 
Fever,  yellow,  17,  426 
Fights,  136,  141,  144,  156,  157,  158, 

162,  163,  164,  166,  167,  169,  170, 

172,  173,  174 
Fire-bugs,  275 
Fire  Department,  8,  9 
Fire-ships,  130,  131,  326 
Fish  and  Fishing,  89,  316,  317,  318, 

409,  430,  431 


Fish,  James  D.,  315 

Fiske,  Prof.  John  (quoted),  107 

Fitzgerald,  Edward,  97,  100 

Five  Nations,  the,  69,  80 

Flag,  The  American,  383,  384 

Flag,  the  National,  377 

Flagg,  Major  Nathan,  173 

Fleetwood  Park,  290 

Fletcher,  Governor  Benjamin,  70, 
71,  79,  186,  255,  279 

Flower,  Gov.  Roswell  P.,  244 

Fogge,  Rev.  Ezekiel,  252,  279 

"Font  Hill,"  325 

Food,  86,  89 

Forage,  159,  160,  174 

Fordham,  2,  5,  6,  60,  61,  119,  131, 
133,  149,  154,  183,  184,  212,  213, 
221,  242,  275,  276,  305,  343,  351, 

352,  356 

Fordham  Church,  101,  213,  217, 

262,  274,  275,  343,  346,  352 
Fordham  Heights,  126,  129,  149, 

150,  152,  167,  322,  342 
Fordham  Hospital,  12,  13 
Fordham  Landing,  217,  346 
Fordham  Manor,  61,  62,  64,  217, 

275,  278,  290,  342,  348,  366 
Fordham  Ridge,  15,  16,  303,  322, 

350 

Fordham  Road,  218,  276,  304,  346 
Fordham  University,  213,  243,  285, 

353,  354,  356 

Forest    Avenue  Congregational 

Church,  288 
Forrest,  Edwin,  325 
"Forrest's  Castle,"  325,  326 
Forster,  William,  77,  97,  98,  99,  100, 

257 

Fort  Prince  Charles,  125,  126,  150 

Fort  Christina,  329 

Fort,  Cock  Hill,  125,  126,  150 

Fort  George,  128,  129,  348 

Fort  Good  Hope,  41 

Fort  Independence  Street,  128,  340 

Fort  Knyphausen,  150 

Fort  Lee,  131,  149 

Fort  Montgomery,  130 

Fort  Number  One,  125,  126,  329 

Fort  Number  Two  (Fort  Swart- 
wout),  125,  126,  329 

Fort  Number  Three,  125,  126,  320 

Fort  Number  Four  (Fort  Inde- 
pendence), 126,  127,  128,  131, 
156,  157,  159,  160,  167,  168,  170, 
295,  328,  329,  330,  337,  338,  340, 
342 


Index 


439 


Fort  Number  Five,  128,  337,  343 
Fort  Number  Six,  129,  344 
Fort  Number  Seven,  129,  149,  346 
Fort  Number  Eight,  129,  149,  166, 

168,  169,  173,  174,  347,  348,  349 
Fort  Schuyler,  23,  412,  415 
Fort  Washington,  127,  131,  133,  135 

142,  149,  151,  152,  154,  159,  210, 

348,  349 

Fortifications,  118,  119,  124,  125, 
126,  127,  128,  129,  130,  134,  135, 
141,  149,  152,  156,  158,  167,  330, 

349,  412 

Fowler,  Colonel,  165,  166,  387 

Fowler,  John,  124 

Fowler,  Judge  Jonathan,  123 

Fox,  George,  63,  272 

Fox's  Corners,  219,  380 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  133,  225 

Franz  Sigel  Park,  292,  372 

Freeholders,  113,  116 

Freight  station  and  yards,  229,  230, 
292,  386 

French,  Francis,  60 

"French  Neutrals,"  282 

French  settlement  at  Williams- 
bridge,  418 

French  troops,  168,  283, 298 

Funerals,  no,  in,  112 

Furniture,  colonial,  88 

Gage,  General,  147 
Galloway,  Dr.  (quoted),  138 
Gardeners,  market,  374,  385,  386, 
407 

Gates,  Gen.  Horatio,  109,  155,  238, 
415 

Gaynor,  Mayor  William  J.,  11 

Gazette,  Rivington's,  101 

Gazetteer,  Rivington's  Royal,  117, 

120,  123 
General  S locum  disaster,  378 
Genet,  Citizen,  362 
Gentlemen's  Driving  Association, 

289 

George  III.,  125,  274,  298,  391 
George's  Point,  81,  293,  294 
Germans,  286,  288,  371,  374,  385, 

386,  407 
Gesellen  islands,  19 
Giles,  William  Ogden,  127,  295,  340 
Gill,  Lieutenant,  164 
Gist,  Colonel,  162,  322 
Givan's  Creek,  219 
Glenn,  Henry,  118 
Glover,  Charles,  97,  100 


Glover,  Colonel  John,  143,  144,  146, 

311,  420 
Glover's  Rock,  311 
Godwin,  Joseph,  213,  335 
"Godwin's  Island,"  335 
Golf,  216,  300,  314 
Gomez,  Estevan,  24 
Goose  Island,  20 
"Gordon  riots,"  359 
Gotshall,  W.  C,  247,  248 
Gott,  Mr.,  100 

Gouverneur,    Sarah    (Mrs.  Lewis 

Morris),  359 
Grace  P.  E.  Church,  271 
Graham,  Isabella,  74,  358 
Graham,  James,  2,  259,  381,  387 
Graham,  Col.  Jonathan  G.,  120, 

131,  141,  311 
Graham,  Lewis,  262 
Graham  mansion,  165 
Gramatan,  51 
Grand  Avenue,  293 
Grand  Central  Station,  188,  230, 

231,  234 
Grand  Central  Terminal,  231 
"Grange,"  the  Hunt,  383,  385 
Grant,  General,  154 
Grasse,  Comte  de,  171 
Graydon,  Captain  (quoted),  94 
"Gray  Mare"  boulder,  the,  316 
Great  Eastern,  the,  21 
Greenbush,  233 

Greene,    Lieut.-Col.  Christopher, 
173 

Greene,  Maj.-Gen.  Nathanael,  149, 

166,  167,  274 
Guides,  155,  168,  171,  172,  173 
Gun  Hill,  357 

Gun  Hill  Road,  128,  157,  159,  215, 

216,  293,  322,  341 
Guy  Fawkes  Day,  108 


Hadden  (or  Heddy),  John,  59,  79, 

81,  82,  184,  212,  293 
Hadley,  George,  191,  293,  326 
Hadley,  William,  327 
Half-Moon,  the,  331,  332,  333 
Hall,  Edward  Hagaman,  129 
"Hall  of  Fame,"  347,  353 
Halleck,  Fitz-Greene,  383,  384 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  264,  360,  361 
Hamilton,  Andrew,  78 
Hammond,  Lieut.-Col.  James,  119 
Hand,  Col.  Edward,  141 
Hand's  Riflemen,  141,  311,  398 


440 


Index 


Hardenbroeck,    Margaret  (Mrs. 

Frederick  Philipse),  79,  81 
Harlem,  26,  28,  43,  47,  61,  131,  177. 

179,  193,  195,275,276 
Harlem  Bridge  (see  Bridges) 
Harlem  Bridge  Company,  195 
Harlem   Bridge,   Morrisania,  and 

Fordham  Railroad  Company,  239 
Harlem  Freight  Terminal,  370 
Harlem  Heights,  148 
Harlem,  Plains  of,  26 
Harlem  River,  1,  2,  5,  6,  9,  14,  15, 

16,  25,  26,  29,  48,  64,  86,  89,  125, 

130,  149,  154,  160,  168,  177,  179, 
192,  193,  198,  199,  201,  202,  210, 
360,  367 

Harris,  Lieutenant,  174 
Harryson,  Katherine,  58 
Hart  Island,  5,  20,  39,  56,  160 
Hartford,  41 

Haskins,  John  B.,  239,  394 
Hatfield,  Colonel,  166 
Hazen,  Lieut.-Col.,  169 
Headquarters  map,  128,  130,  134 
Heath,  Maj.-Gen.  William,  128,  130, 

131,  136,  139,  140,  141,  142,  143, 
152,  156,  158,  164,  172,  175,  297, 
322,  326,  328,  341,  348,  357,  408, 
428 

Heathcote,  Ann  (Mrs.  James  De 

Lancey),  83 
Heathcote,  CoL  Caleb,  71,  83,  253, 

254,  272,  273,  279,  280,  397,  398, 

425 

Heathcote,  Martha  (Mrs.  Johnson), 

83 

Heine  statue,  373 
Heintz,  Louis  J.,  223,  373 
Hell  Gate,  40,  186 
Henly,  Major,  136 
Henry  Clay  disaster,  the,  334 
Henry  VII.,  24 
Hermans,  Augustine,  31,  410 
Herter,  Professor  Ernst,  373 
Hessians,  127,  134,  137,  143,  157, 
158,  348 

Hewitt,  Mayor  Abram  SM  243,  244 
High  Bridge  (see  Bridges) 
Highbridge  Road,  213,  217,  222,  342 
Highbridgeville,  10,  350 
High  Island,  5,  20 
Highlands,  Hudson,  130,  152,  160, 
.174 

Highland  Turnpike  Company,  212, 
336 

High  School,  Gouverneur  Morris,  9 


Highways,  Commissioner  of,  222 
Hildreth,  J.  Homer,  foot-note,  370 
Hodson,  Rev.  John  Merlin,  278 
Hoe,  Col.  Richard  M.,  270,  380 
Hogg  Island,  105,  365 
Hoit,  John,  425 
Holler's  Pond,  423,  424 
Holmes,  Col.  James,  118,  119 
Home  for  the  Friendless,  372 
Home  for  Incurables,  12,  353, 355 
Honeywell,  Captain,  172,  173 
Horses,  223,  226,  240,  289,  291 
Horses,  Morgan,  156 
Hospitals,  12,  13,  126 
Hotham,  Commodore,  138 
Houdin,  364 
House  of  Refuge,  365 
Houses,  colonial,  87,  88 
Howe,  Admiral  Lord,  17, 125, 133, 
140 

Howe,  Gen.  Sir  William,  17,  125, 
126,  133,  134,  137,  139,  140, 
143,  147,149,160,310,  311,  411, 
412 

Huckleberry  Island,  349 

v  Huckleberry  "  road,  240,  241 

Hudson,  Henry,  24,  332,  333 

Hudson  Memorial  bridge,  333 

Hudson  monument,  333,  334 

Hudson  Park,  14,  327 

Hudson  River,  1,  2,  26,  33,  40,  47, 

79,89,  125,  177,326,327,331 
Hudson  ter-centenary,  333 
Huguenots,  56,  70,  84,  412 
Hughes,  Bishop  John,  354 
Hull,  Lieut.-Col.  William,  169,  349 
Hunt  burial-ground,  321 
Hunt,  Josiah,  72,  410 
Hunt,  Margaret,  271 
Hunt,  Thomas,  1st,  31,  42,  58,  64, 

374,  380,  409,  410,  411 
Hunt,  Thomas,  2d,  383 
Hunt,  Thomas,  3d,  116,  262 
Hunt's  Point,  22,  42,  72,  132,  219, 

247,321,  380,  383,  388,  411 
Hunter,  Elias  des  Brosses,  314,  318 
Hunter,  Governor,  277 
Hunter  Island,  5,  19,  20,  39,  56, 

309,  314 
Hunter,  John,  20,  314 
Hunter  mansion,  314 
Hunter's  Island  Inn,  315 
Huntington,  Collis  P.,  399,  416 
Hussar,  British  frigate,  378 
Husted  house,  419 
Hutchins,  Waldo,  328 


Index 


441 


Hutchinson,  Anne,  23,  29,  51,  57, 
312 

Hutchinson's  River,  5,  18,  29,  39, 
50,  146,  209,  211,  214,  309,  312, 
425 

Hutton,  William  R.,  205 

Immaculate    Conception,    R.  C. 

Church  of  the,  286 
Immigration,  4,  286,  288 
Incendiaries,  274 

Independents,  251,  252,  256,  273, 
279 

Indian  cave,  329 
Indian  field,  164,  303 
"Indian  Rock,"  403 
Indian  shell  mounds,  314,  316,  324, 
329 

Indian  wars,  28,  29,  30,  35,  38,  43, 
44,  86,  409,  410 

Indians,  18,  21,  28,  29,  30,  35,  38, 
40  43.  49,  5i,  59,  61,  64  69,  81, 
94,  103,  105,  162,  163,  2ii,  312, 
322,  329,  389,  402,  414 

Indus  (quoted),  76,  77 

Ingoldsby,  Major  Richard,  70 

Interborough  Rapid  Transit  Com- 
pany, 246,  247 

Interurban  Railway  Company,  241 

Intervale  Avenue,  16 

Invermere,  425 

Ireland,  Rev.  John,  263 

Irish,  233,  281,  284 

Irving,  Washington,  92,  178,  332 

Iselin  Columbus,  315 

"Jack's  Rock,"  313 

Jackson,  Captain,  311 

Jackson,  Rev.  Charles  D.,  265 

Jackson,  Colonel,  136 

Jackson,  Rev.  John,  278 

Jacksonville,  421 

Jacobsen,  John,  27 

James  II.  {see  Duke  of  York  and 

Albany) 
Jansen  Brothers,  43 
Jay,  John,  116,  361 
Jeffeard's  Neck,  165,387 
Jerome  Avenue,  16,  162,  199,  215, 

216,  217,  247,  293,  372 
Jerome,  Leonard  W.,  290 
Jerome  Park,  213,  214,  290,  318, 

336,  342 

Jerome  Park  reservoir  {see  Reser- 
voirs) 

Jerome,  village  of,  419 


Jessup,  Edward,  16,  42,  84,  104, 

271,  381,  411 
Jessup,  Elizabeth,  42 
Jesuits,  251,  282,  285,  354 
Jogue,  Father,  251 
Johnston,  Rev.  Joseph  H.,  265 
Jones,  Ebenezer,  60 
Jones,  John  Paul,  109 
Jones,  Rev.  Morgan,  252,  279 
Joseph  Rodman  Drake  Park,  321, 

382 

"Judge"  Smith's  road-house,  217 
Juet,  332 

Jumel,  Madame,  137 
Jumel  mansion,  137 

Karacapacomont,  81 

Keeler,  Captain,  166 

Kemble,  Lieut.-Col.,  foot-note,  134 

Kensico,  17,  18 

Keskeskeck,  25,  27,  39,  48,  177 
Kevser,  Jochim  Petersen,  28 
Kidd,  Captain  William,  80.  81 
Kieft,  Gov.  Wilhelm,  28,  30,  35,  86, 

402,  409,  410 
King's  Battery  {see  Fort  No.  6) 
Kingsbridge,  2,  7,  10,  14,  15,  ioi, 
118,  119,  123,  124,  125,  130,  131, 
133,  134,  135,  Hi,  148,  149,  152, 
155,  156,  158,  160,  168,  171,  176, 
187,  189,  198,  234,  235,  240,  245, 

285,  325,  334,  335 
Kingsbridge  Road,  Bronx,  192,  212, 

213,  214,  215,  305,  343,  422 
Kingsbridge  Road,  Manhattan,  188, 

212 

King's  Bridge  (^Bridges) 
King's  College,  102,  343,  360 
Kings  County,  1 
Knapp,  Rev.  Halsey,  287 
Knight,  Mrs.  Sarah,  225 
Knowlton,  Lieut.-Col.,  137 
Knox,  Colonel  Henry,  142,  176,  298 
Knyphausen,  Lieut.-Gen.,  127,  138, 

143,  148,  149,  150 
Kosciusko,  166 

Laaphawachking,  317 
Labadists,  the  (quoted),  89 
Laconia  Park,  220,  419 
Lafayette  Avenue,  219,  386 
Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  171,  219, 

362,  364,  381,  386 
Land  grants,  26,  29,  30,  31,  34,  42, 

43,  46,  49,  50,  56,  57.  59,  64,  65, 

200,  219 


442  J-11 

Land  tenure,  92,  113 

Lasher,  Colonel,  127 

Laurel  Hill,  348,  349 

Lauzun,  Due  de,  170 

Laws  against  Catholics,  283 

Laws,  the  Duke's,  49 

Lebanon  Hospital,  13 

Lee,  Maj.-Gen.  Charles,  109,  124, 
138,  142,  144,  152,  297,  338 

Lee,  Major  Harry,  155,  167 

Lee,  Gen.  Robert  E.,  347 

Leggett,  Gabriel,  22,  84, 381 

Leggett,  John,  210 

Leggett,  William,  165,  387 

Leggett 's  Brook,  43 

Leggett's  Point,  42,  235,  385,  386 

Legislature,  State,  2,  4,  7, 10,  18,  33, 
94,  188,  191,  193,  194,  195,  198, 
201,  229,  230,  244,  262,  263,  286, 
291,  317,  337,  396,  410,  429 

Leisler,  Jacob,  56,  69,  70,  84,  210 

Lent,  Abraham,  Jr.,  197 

Lewis,  Rev.  Isaac,  280 

Lewis,  S.,  126 

Lewis,  Thomas,  60,  78 

Lexington,  battle  of,  117 

Libraries,  10,  399 

Light-houses,  19,  20,  414 

Lincoln,  Gen.  Benjamin,  142,  1 56, 
168,  170,  297,  298,  328 

Lincoln  Hospital,  12,  378 

Little  Minneford's  Island  (see  City 
Island) 

Little  Mothers,  society  of,  315 
Little  Stanton,  the,  161 
Livingston,  Janet   (Mrs.  Richard 

Montgomery),  338 
Livingston,  Philip,  116,  416 
Livingston,  Philip  I.,  262,  263 
Livingston,  Philip  van  Brugh,  118 
Livingston,  Rev.  Dr.,  278 
Livingston,  Chancellor  Robert,  338 
Livingston,  Robert,  69,  80 
Lock  wood.  Captain,  166 
Locust  Point,  or  Island,  23 
London,  Treaty  of,  65 
Long  Island,  18,  20,  58,  151,  166, 

185,  385,  428 
Long  Island,  battle  of,  131,  138, 143, 

151,  302 

Long  Island  Sound,  1,  5,  15,  18,  20, 
23,  40,  47,  56,  80,  89,  135,  154, 
177,  185,  220,  235,  309,  415 

Long  Reach  patent,  53 

Lorelei  fountain,  373 

Loring,  Commissary,  150 


Lorillard,  Jacob,  353,  355 
Lorillard  mansions,  304,  307 
Lorillard,  Pierre,  307,  356,  419 
Lossing,  Benson  J.,  129,  153 
Lottery,  194 

Louis  Philippe  d  'Orleans,  364 
Louis  XVI.,  362 
Lounsberry,  William,  124 
Lovelace,  Gov.  Francis,  61,  182, 

224,  356 
Low,  Isaac,  116 
"Lower  Cortlandt's,"  296 
Lower  Yonkers,  2 
Loyalists  (see  Tories) 
Ludlow,  Gabriel,  405 
Lutheran  churches,  288 
Lydig,  David,  356,  389 
Lynch,  Dominick,  284,  404 

Macadam,  John  Loudon,  83,  225 
Macedonia,  the  frigate,  431,  432 
Macedonian  Hotel,  431,  432 
Macomb,  Alexander,  197 
Macomb,  Eliza,  290 
Macomb  house,  335,  353 
Macomb,  Mrs.  Mary  C.  P.,  335 
Macomb,  Robert,  198, 199,  200,217, 
335 

Macomb's  Dam  and  Bridge  (see 

Bridges) 
Macomb's  Dam  Park,  320,  372 
Macomb's  Dam  Road,  201,  216, 

217,  222,  372 
Macomb  Street,  336 
Madison  Square  Garden,  231 
Magaw,  Col.  Robert,  127,  150 
Mails,  224,  225,  356 
Malefactors,  95 

Mamaroneck,  49,  72,  83,  114,  160, 
273 

Manhattan,  Borough  of,  1,  7,  124, 

125,  177,  235 
Manhattan  Company,  17 
Manhattan  Indians,  21,  25,  34,  43, 

211 

Manhattan  Island,  25,  40,  43,  47, 
68,  126,  141,  149,  158,  159,  176, 
177,  l83,  lg6,  195,  211,  221,  241 
Manhattan  Railway  Company,  243 
Manor-houses:  Morrisania,  16,  29, 
135,  155,  162,  170,  218,  235, 
271,  360,  362,  365 
Pelham,  314 
Scarsdale,  83 
Van  Cortlandt,  286,  295 
Yonkers,  88,  296 


Index 


443 


Manor-lords,  55 
Manors,  2,  53,  54,  61,  75 
Manufacturing,  86,  103,  104,  366, 
377 

Mapes,  Daniel,  391 

Mapes's  Temperance  Hotel,  167 

Maps,  126,  128,  130,  134,  221,  222, 

317,  329.  366,  367,  406,  419,  425 
Marbleheaders,  143,  144 
Marble  Hill,  124,  125 
Marion,  Col.  Francis,  167 
Markets,  71 
Martin,  Monsieur,  131 
Mather,  Rev.  Warham,  253,  254, 

255,  279 
Maud  S.,  290 
May-day,  108 
McAlpine,  W.  H.,  196,  205 
McDonald,  John  B.,  245 
McDougal,  Gen.  Alexander,  119, 

141,  142 
Mechanics,  424 

Meeting-houses,  252,  253,  254,  272, 

273,  274,  275 
Megapolensis,  Dominie,  252 
Mellen,  President,  249 
Melrose,  232,  233,  288,  292,  371 
Melrose  Park,  32 1 
Mentipathe,  65 

Mercenaries,  German,  127,  134,  137, 
143,147,  148,  149,153,154 

Methodists,  285,  286 

Metropolitan  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany, 241 

Middletown,  309 

Mifflin,  Gen.  Thomas,  125,  130,  142 

Milbourne,  Jacob,  70 

Mile  Square,  the,  60,  79,  141,  147, 

152,  155,  162,  174,215,422 
Military  companies,  393 
Militia,  55,  118,  119,  120,  125,  127, 

137,  138,  159,  161,  166,  170,  172, 

174,  255 

Mill  Book,  15,  16,  18,  104,  155, 
193,  229,  267,  271,  289,  292,  319, 

358,  359 

Mill  Creek,  19 

Miller,  Rev.  John,  253 

Milliken,  David,  238 

Mills,  82,  83,  104,  105,  141,  193, 
197,  198,  199,  216,  294,  305,  307, 
356,  398,  422,  423,  424,  425 

Milner,  Rev.  John,  99,  257,  258 

Ministers  (see  Clergymen) 

Minneford's  Island,  39,  428 

Minuits,  Gov.  Peter,  428 


"Mishow  Rock,"  316 
Mohegan  Indians,  25,  43,  211 
Money,  101,  105,  106,  107,  260 
Monroe,  James,  362 
Montaigne,  Rev.  John,  276 
Montefiore  Home,  341 
Monterey,  342 

Montgomery,  Gen.  Richard,  109, 
118,  124,  127,  128,  278,  338,  339, 
340 

Monument  at  Yorktown,  N.  Y.,  173 
Monuments,  1 73,  300,  303,  3 1 1,  323, 

333,  353,  373,  374,  382,  392 
Moravian  Church,  288 
Moreau,  General,  364 
Morgan,  Gen.  Daniel,  167 
Morgan,  J.  Pierpont,  237 
Morgan,  Rev.  Joseph,  279,  280 
Morrisania,  2,  3,  4,  6,  7,  10,  16,  21, 
73,  133,  137,  140,  143,  152,  159, 
162,  166,  168,  172,  193,  195,  217, 
229,  245,  267,  271,  287,  288,  358, 
371 

Morrisania  Improvement  District,  8 
Morrisania  Manor,  75,  84,  104,  318, 

358,  359,  366,  370 
Morrisania,  Old,  or  Central,  358, 

366,  371 
Morris  Dock,  200 

Morris  family,  21,  62,  84,  113,  115, 
360 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  First,  84,  267, 
271,  3i8,  359,  36o,  361,  363,  366, 
409 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  Second,  238, 
267,  268,  318,  319,  363,  366,  367, 

371,377 
Morris,  Gouverneur,  house,  364 
Morris,   Mrs.   Gouverneur  (Anne 

Cary  Randolph),  267,  363 
Morris,  Roger,  house,  137,  150 
Morris  Heights,  347,  349 
Morris,  John,  62 
Morris,  John  A.,  290 
Morris,  Colonel  Lewis  (First),  29, 

43,62,  63,65,  73,  75,  105,319 
Morris,  Judge  Lewis  (Second,  called 

Senior),  63,  72,  73,  74,  75,  76,  77, 

78,  82,  84,  96,  99,  277,  358,  381, 

387 

Morris,  Lewis  (Third,  called  Jun- 
ior), 2,  3,  72,  84,  114,  259,  280, 
358,  359 

Morris,  Gen.  Lewis  (Fourth,  the 
Signer),  84,  105,  115,  116,  117, 
192,  193,  358,  362,  366,  375,  409 


444 


Index 


Morris,  Lewis  G.,  199,  200,  203,  211, 

267 

Morris,  Mary,  73,  105 

Morris  Park  race-track,  214,  220, 

249,  290,  291,  401,  417 
Morris,  Capt.  Richard,  29,  62,  63, 

66,  73 

Morris,  Hon.  Richard,  359 

Morris,  Robert,  361 

Morris,  Robert  Hunter,  358 

Morris,  Col.  Roger,  296 

Morris,  Gen.  Staats  Long,  289,  358, 

359,  363,  366 
Morristown,  N.  J.,  65 
Morris,  William,  62 
Mosholu,  15,  82,  128,  287,  296,  334, 

336 

Mosholu  Avenue,  293 
Mosholu  Parkway,  304 
Mott  Avenue,  247 
Mott  Haven,  10,  367,  371 
Mott,  Jordan  L.,  366,  367 
Mount  Eden,  342 
Mount  Hope,  320,  342 
Mount  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  14,  130, 
325,326 

Mount  Vernon,  5,  6,  7,  147,  209, 

215,312,  424 
Mount     Vernon     Avenue  (Mile 

Square  Road),  162,  163,  216,  293 
Mundy's  Lane,  422 
Munro,  Rev.  Harry,  258 
Muschenheim,  William  C.,  126,  329, 

333 

Muscoota,  79,  177 
Museums,  294,  308,  326 

Nash,  Francis  H.,  376 
Nassau  Hall  (Princeton  College), 
102 

National  Guard,  II,  337 
Negro  Fort,  128,  157 
Nemeran,  81 

Nepperhacm  (see  Yonkers) 
Nether  Dutch  Church,  62,  348 
Neutral  Ground,  152,  153,  160,  167, 

170,  305,  327 
New  Amsterdam,  25,  30,  32,  34,  37, 

45,46,79,93,96,178,329 
New  Englandcrs,  92,  114 
New  Jersey,  68,  74 
"  New  Lights,"  279 
New  Netherland,  26,  29,  34,  42,  46, 

211,  251 
New  Orange,  65 

New"  Parks,  291,  377 


New  Rochelle,  5,  56,  72,  99, 119, 127, 

148,  149,  156,  159,  194,  214,  235, 

258,  274,  280 
Newspapers,  77,  102,  103,  116 
New  Year's  Day,  108 
New  York  Bay,  177 
New  York  City,  1,  5,  6,  7,  17,  19,  20, 

47  >  57,  68,  69,  78,  80,  107,  116, 

123,  133,  J39,  166,  186,  188,  193, 

201,  291,  294,  298 
New  York  Connecting  Railway,  236 
New  York  County,  8,  196 
New  York  Hydraulic  and  Bridge 

Company,  198 
New  York  Line   regiments,  119, 

141 

New  York  Province,  26,  47,  70,  74, 

98, 113,  119 
New  York  State,  42,  68,  93,  173, 

363 

New  York  University,  331,  346,  353 
Nicholas,  Colonel,  131 
Nicholson,  Col.  Francis,  68,  69 
Nicolls,  Col.  Richard,  31,  39,  42,  46, 
47,  48,  49,  52,  56,  57,  59,  65,  105, 
179,  192,219,365,402,410 
Nimham,  164,  303,  329 
Ninety-Six,  S.  C,  166 
Nonpareil,  the,  200 
North  Beach,  ferry  to,  208 
North  Brother  Island,  12,  19,  378 
North  Carolina,  U.  S.  frigate,  429 
North  New  York,  231,370,371 
North  Riding,  47,  50 
Nuasin,  65,  372 
Nuton,  Captain-lieutenant,  36 

Oak  Point,  22,  235,  386 

Oakley,  Lieutenant,  166 

Officers,  American,  137,  138 

Officers,  French,  89,  426 

Ohio  Athletic  Field,  346 

Old  Ferry  Point,  22,  407,  411 

Olin,  Bishop,  419 

Olinville,  356,  419 

Oloff  Park,  340 

O'Neale,  Hugh,  35,  59 

O'Neil,  Rev.  D.  P.,  281,  283 

Oostdorp  (see  Westchester) 

Orange,  Prince  of,  57 

Orchard  Beach,  316 

Orphan  Asylum,  Roman  Catholic, 

33i,  343,  344 
Orr,  Alexander  E.,  244 
Osborn,  Gov.  Sir  Dan  vers,  83 
Outposts,  135,  139,  140,  142,  143, 


Index 


445 


Outposts — (Continued) 

152,  154,  155,  156,  157,  158,  160, 
175,  3II.328,  365,  417,  420 


Palisades,  the,  326,  331 

Palmer,  Benjamin,  190,  428 

Palmer,  Joseph,  58 

Paparinemo,  14,  19,  79,  1 81,  183, 

184,  190,  197,  211,  212,  335 
Park  Avenue,  230 
Park  Department,  7,  316,  319,  320, 

423 

Parks,  9,  16,  192,  289,  293,  321,  350 
Parkways,  18,  128,  194,  289,  292, 

304,421 
Parsons,  Brig.-Gen.,  142,  156 
Parsons,  William  Barclay,  244 
Partisans,  151,  155,  163,  167 
Patents,  land,  15,  16,  49,  51,  52,  53, 

66,  74,  75,  79,  211,  389,  402,  410, 

413 

Patroonships,  31,  32 
Patti  family,  the,  421 
Paulding,  Colonel,  131 
Peace,  174,  299 
Peace  conference,  133 
Peddlers,  90,  297 
Peekskill,  130 

Pelham  Avenue,  304,  308,  309 

Pelham  Bay,  19,  309 

Pelham  Bay  Park,  5,  56,  147,  221, 

247,  291,  292,  309,  315,  409,  416, 

427,  430,  431 
Pelham  Bridge,  220,  221,  309,  317, 

412,  413,  423 
Pelham  Manor,  5,  39,  53,  55,  70, 

84,  98,  119,  147,  214,  220,  253, 

310,  428 
Pelham  Neck,  309 
Pelham  Parkway,  194,  219,  304, 

309,  310,  417 
Pelham  Road,  221 
Pelham,  township  of,  2,  5,  7,  56,  194, 

42  i,  427 
Pell,  Dr.,  224 

Pell,  John,  56,  84,  313,  314,  425 
Pell,  John,  D.  D.,  56 
Pell,  Joshua,  314 

Pell's  Neck,  or  Point,  5,  23, 140, 142, 
143,  420 

Pell's  Point,  battle  of,  144,  145,  146, 

147,  221,  311,  313 
Pell,  Thomas,  23,  35,  39,  48,  49,  50, 

51,  53,  56,  313,  3M,  428 
Penfield  estate,  422 


Penn,  William,  26,  73,  333 
Pennsylvania  Line  regiments,  125, 

127,  129 
Pennyfield,  413 
Pequot  Indians,  211 
Percy,  Earl,  139 
Pfingster,  108 

Philipse,  Frederick,  (First),  60,  78, 

79,  80,  81,  82,  186,  293 
Philipse,  Frederick  (Second),  187 
Philipse,  Col.  Frederick,  (Third),  2, 

74,  77,  116,  188,  190,  191,  258, 

296,  325 
Philipse,  Margaret,  60 
Philipse,  Mary,  296 
Philipseburgh,  Manor  of,  2,  79,  119, 

186,  191,  197,212,293,325 
Philipse's  (see  Yonkers) 
Phcenix,  the,  130 
Pickens,  Colonel,  167 
Pilgrim  Baptist  Church,  287 
Pirates,  80 

Plymouth,  40 

Poe  Cottage,  321,  351,  352 

Poe,  Edgar  Allan,  335,  351, 352 

Poe  Park,  213,  321,  351 

Pole,  Sarah,  63 

Police,  8 

Polo,  300,  412 

Population,  9,  246 

Port  Chester,  152,  235,  247,  248 

Porter,  Gen.  Josiah,  300 

Port  Morris,  16,  21,  22,  43,  73,  208, 

231,371,377,385,386,413 
Postman,  213,  224,  225 
Posts  (see  Mails) 
Powell,  Rev.  William,  264,  355 
Presbyterians,  251,  280 
Presbyteries,  280,  281 
Prescott,  Col.  William,  141 
Princeton  College,  102 
Prisons,  British,  150,  295 
Pritchard,  Captain,  172 
Prospect  Hill  Road,  144,  221,  310, 

423 

Protectory,  Roman  Catholic,  399 
Protest,  White  Plains,  the,  116,  117, 

123,  258,  264 
Provincial  Assembly,  53,  62,  66,  68, 

70,  77,  82,  83,  112,  113,  117,  186, 

187,  192,  221,  253,  254,  255,  264, 
280,  296,  348,  397 

Provincial  Congress,  118,  120,  121, 

122,  127,  131,  360 
Provoost,  Bishop  Samuel,  263 
Provost,  William,  104 


/ 


446 


Index 


Pugsley's  Creek,  15,  18,  22,  73,  402, 

406 

Purchases,  land,  25,  26,  27,  29,  33, 
39,40,  42,  48,  50,51,78,184,314, 
428 

Putnam  County,  1,  47,  238,  280,  281 
Putnam,  Ma j. -Gen.  Israel,  142 
Putnam,  Col.  Rufus,  127,  148, 338 

Quakers,  4,  30,  63,  78,  251,  258,  259, 

271,272,273,274,  284 
Quebec,  338 
Queen  Anne,  266,  426 
Queens  Borough,  1,  18,  177,  236  , 
Queens  County,  1,  47 
Queen's  Rangers,  120,  121,  152,  155, 

157,  4ii 
Quimby,  John,  56 
Quinnahung,  22,  381 
Quit-rent,  53,  54,  55,  71,  75,  79,  183, 

197,  199,  4io 

Race-courses,  289,  290,  291 
Racing,  108,  289 

Raids,  122,  131,  151,  152,  155,  160, 
162,  165,  166,  167,  168,  169,  172, 
173,  174,  298 
Railroad  commissioners,  248,  249 
Railroads:  Elevated,  196,  227,  232, 
235,  238,  241,  242, 245,  249,  354 
Harlem,  207,  213,  228,  229,  230, 
232,  233,  234,  285,  342,  356, 
366,  371 
Long  Island,  236 
New  York  Central  &  Hudson 
River,  126,  192,  207,  228,  232, 

234,  236,  237, 247, 285,  326, 334, 
342 

New  York,  New  Haven  &  Hart- 
ford, 28,  180,  230,  231,  232, 

235,  236,  247,  249,  386 

N.  Y.,  N.  H.  &  H.,  Suburban 
branch  (Harlem  River  &  Port 
Chester),  214,  235,  236,  249, 
310,360,389,  405,427 

New  York  &  Port  Chester,  247, 
248,  249 

New  York,  Westchester  &  Bos- 
ton, 231,  247,  427 
Port  Morris  branch,  232 
Putnam,  192,  207,  236,  237,  300, 

336 

Spuytcn  Duyvil  &  Port  Morris, 

West  Side  &  Yonkers,  238 
Randall,  John,  surveyor,  366 


Randall's  Island,  135,  159,  192,364, 

365,  366 

Randolph,  Anne  Cary  (Mrs.  Gou- 
verneur  Morris),  267,  363 

Rapelje,  George,  317 

Rapid  Transit  Commission,  244, 245 

Rat  Island,  20 

Rates,  railroad,  232,  243 

Rattlesnake  Brook,  19,  214,  422, 424 

Rattlesnakes,  53 

Raven,  the,  351 

Rawdon,  Lord,  155 

Read,  Colonel,  143,  144, 145, 146 

Reconnaissance,  168,  170,  292,  302 

Records,  city  and  town,  131,  302, 
396,  398,  406  , 

Referendum,  io,  244 

Refugees,  119,  154 

Regiment,  First  Continental  Foot, 
141 

Regiment,  Glover's,  143,  144,  162 
Regiments,  American,  131 
Regiments,  British,  129,  343,  348 
Regiments,  Massachusetts,  168,  174 
Regiments,  New  York,  119,  172 
Regiments,  Pennsylvania,  125,  127, 
129 

Regiments,  Rhode  Island,  173 
Reid's  Mill,  19,  104,  423,  424 
Reign  of  Terror,  362 
Relics,  military,  337, 343, 347 
Religion,  251 
Rensellaerswyck,  28,  32 
Renwicks,  200,  201 
Reserviors:  Jerome  Park,  128,  213, 
215,  290,  336,  343,  417 

Williamsbridge,  158,216,357 
Retreat,  American,  148 
Rhode  Island,  156,  159,  160,  168 
Richardson,  Elizabeth  (Mrs.  Leg- 

gett),  84 

Richardson,  John,  16,  42,  64,  83,  84, 

104,  381 
Richbell's  purchase,  49 
Richmond  Borough,  1 
Rider  &  Conkling,  368 
Riis,  Jacob,  settlement,  315 
Riker's  Island,  19,  20,  385 
Ritzema,  Colonel,  119 
Riverdale,  14,  20,  234,  326,  327,  336 
Riverside  Hospital,  12 
Rivington,  James,  ioi,  117, 120,  123, 

411 

Roads,  191,  193,  194,  201,  212,  213, 
214,  215,  216,  217,  218,  219,  220, 
221,  222,  226,  317,  390 


Index 


447 


Robin,  Abb  6,  283 

Rochambeau,  Comte  de,  89,  168, 

170,  292,  298,  345 
Rochambeau,  the,  345 
Rocking  stone,  308 
Rockland  County,  48 
Rodman,  Samuel,  23,  185 
Rodman's  Neck,  5,  18,  19,  20,  23, 

140,  145,  161,  185,  309,  310,  311, 

428 

Rogers,  Col.  Robert,  107, 120,  152 
Roosevelt,  Theodore,  quoted,  361 
"Rose  Bank"  estate,  387 
"Rose  Hill"  estate,  354 
Rose,  the,  130 
Rutledge,  John,  133 
Rye,  114,  253,  260,  273 

Sackwrahung  {see  Bungay  Creek) 
San  Antonio,  Rio,  24 
Sander's  Landing,  423 
Satanstoe,  189,  224,  415 
Sauthier,  Joseph  Claude,  126,  317, 
329 

Sawmill  Lane,  219 
Sawmill  River,  33,  35,  212 
Scammel,  Colonel,  171 
Scarsdale  Manor,  5,  18,  72 
Schools,  8,  96,  97,  98,  99,  100,  123, 

325,  326,  343,  431 
Schuldam,  the,  160,  161,  210 
Schuyler,  Gen.  Philip,  338,  415 
Schwab,  Justus  H.,  347 
Scott,  General,  142,  156,  158 
Screven's  Point,  407 
Seabury,  Nathaniel,  100 
Seabury,  Rev.  Samuel,  100,  101, 

106,  115,  123,  209,  260,  261,  265, 

266,  274,  297,  408 
Sears,  Captain  Isaac  ("King"),  122 
Sedgwick  Avenue,  128,  215,  217, 

276,  336,  342,343,349 
Selwyns,  Dominie  Henricus,  62 
Servarts,  bond,  or  indentured,  94 
Seton  Hospital,  12,  126,  328 
Seton's  Falls,  9,  321,  422,  425 
Settlers,  25,  26,  28,  29, 30, 35, 39, 44, 

45,  48,  50,  61,  86,  87,  97,  114,  177, 

220,  251,  271,  424 
Sheep  pasture,  Westchester,  406 
Sheldon,    Colonel,    155,  161,  170, 

172 

Shell  mounds,  Indian,  314,  316,  324, 

329 

Shepard,  Colonel,  143,  144,  146,  147 
Ship-building,  210,  350,  430 


Shonnard's  History  of  Westchester 

County,  406 
Shorackkappock,  21,  327 
Shore  Road  (Eastern  Boulevard), 

221,310,312,313 
Sickles,  Gen.  Daniel,  428 
Sickles,  John,  192 
Sigel,  Gen.  Franz,  292 
Silleck's  Landing,  424 
Simcoe,  Lieut. -Col.  John  G.,  120, 

121,  152,  162,  163,  164,  167,  297, 

303,  322,  329 
Sisters  of  Chanty,  2,  325,  328,  344, 

400 

Sisters  of  the  Poor  of  St.  Francis, 

Siwanoy  Indians,  25,  43,  211,  214, 

410,  417,  427 
Skating,  300 
Skinners,  153 
Slaves,  2,  4,  93,  95 
Sloop  trade,  161,  209,  398,424 
Sloughter,  Gov.  Henry,  69,  70 
Smith,  Dirck,  60 
Smith,  Captain  John,  39 
Smith's  road-house,  "Judge,"  217, 

374 

Smuggling,  104,  407 

Snakapins,  22,  31 

Snuff-mill,  307,  356 

Society,  classes  of  colonial,  91,  92 

Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith,  97,  98,  99,  254,  255,  257, 
258,  259,  262,  272,  277,  279 

Soldiers'  monument,  West  Farms, 
392 

Sons  of  Liberty,  114 
South  Belmont,  342 
South  Brother  Island,  19 
South  Fordham,  342 
South  Melrose,  371 
Southern  Boulevard,  245,  247,  377, 
38i 

Spectacle  Island  (see  City  Island) 
Spencer,  Maj.-Gen.,  142 
Spicer's  Neck,  410,  411 
"Split  Rock"  Road,  144,  146,  221, 

310,311,313 
Spoutmg  spring,  178,  330 
Spuyten  Duyvil,  35,  82,  126,  167, 

179,  327,  330 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  1,  2,  14,  15, 
33,  61,  79,  130,  133, 149,  168, 170, 
174,  177,  178,  179,  181,  182,  197, 
207,  210,  212,  215,  221,  235,  245, 
331,334 


448 


Index 


Spuyten  Duyvil  Neck,  20,  82,  126, 

211,  293,  327,  333 

"Spy  "  oak,  the,  413 

Staats,    Elizabeth    (Mrs.  Lewis 

Morris),  358 
Stages,  213,  225,  226,  299 
Standard,  Rev.  Thomas,  98,  257, 

273 

Staten  Island,  1 

States-General,  34,  41,  42,  45,  57 
Station,  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  236 
Station,  Union,  231 
Steamboats,  207,  226,  227,  350,  398, 
427 

Steenwyck,  Cornelius,  61,  62,  276, 
348 

Steenwyck,  Margaretta,  62,  276, 
348 

Steinmeyer,  Father,  282 
Stephens,  Clinton,  404 
Stepping  Stones  islands,  20, 414 
Stinardtown,  309 
Stirling,  Gen.  Lord,  112,  142 
Stockbridge  Indians,  162,  303,  329, 
336 

Stoll,  Cornelius  Jacobsen,  27 

Stoll,  Jacob  Jans,  29 

Stony  Point,  or  Island  (see  Port 

Morris) 
Stoughton,  Charles,  22 
Street  Improvements,  Department 

of,  7 

Street  railways,  238,  239,  240, 39 1 
Streets,  9,  290,  381,  384,  423 
Stuyvesant,  Gov.  Peter,  31,  34,  35, 

36,  37.  38,  41,  44,  46,  57,  178,  211, 

329 

St.  Anne's  P.  E.  Church,  Morri- 
sania,  267,  271,  319,  367 

St.  Francis's  Hospital,  13 

St.  James  Park,  320,  351 

St.  James's  P.  E.  Church,  320 

St.  John's  College  (Fordham  Uni- 
versity), 285 

St.  John's  Park,  231 

St.  John's  P.  E.  Church,  Yonkers, 
115,258 

St.  Joseph's  Hospital,  13 

St.  Mary's  Park,  291,  319 

St.  Paul's  P.  E.  Church,  East- 
chester,  115,  209,  212,  249,  262, 
263,  312,  422,  425,  426 

St.  Paul's  P.  E.  Church,  Morri- 
sania,  271 

St.  Paul's  R.  C.  Church,  Harlem, 
284 


St.  Peter's  P.  E.  Church,  West- 
chester, 115,  212,  220,  254,  257, 
258,  261,  262,  263,  265,  275,  390, 
396,  399 

St.  Raymond's  R.  C.  Cemetery,  321, 
322 

St.  Raymond's  R.  C.  Church,  285, 
399 

St.  Stephen's  M.  E.  Church,  Man- 
hattan, 287 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  Mount,  2 
Suburban  Rapid  Transit  Company, 
242 

Subways,  10, 188, 217, 232,  243, 244, 
245,  246,  247,  249,  336,  377,  391, 
412,  422 

Suffrage,  right  of,  66 

Sullivan,  Major-General,  133,  142 

Sumter,  Colonel,  167 

Supreme  court,  48,  244 

Surrender,  Dutch  to  English,  49,  64, 
65 

Surrender,  English  to  Dutch,  57,  64, 
65 

Swart wout,  Col.  Abraham,  126,  131 
"Switcher's  Rock,"  326 

Talman,  Pierre  C,  394 
Tapestries,  Gobelins,  419 
Tarleton,  Lieut.-Col.  Banastre,  153, 

163,  167,  322,  329 
Taverns,  124,  180,  1 83,  1 89,  191, 

197,315,335  , 
"Taylor's  Island,  317 
Temple,  Charlotte,  377 
Ten  Farms,  the,  51, 97,  219 
Tennant,  Rev.  William,  279 
Tetard,  Dominie  John  Peter,  101, 

277,  343,  360 
Tetard's  Hill,  101,  124,  126,  131, 

181,  212,  343 
Third  Avenue,  193,  240,  241,  242 
Thomas,  Colonel,  131 
Thomas,  John,  280 
Throgg's  Neck,  15,  18,  20,  23,  30, 

40,  42,48,  100,  114,  131,  133,  139, 

140,  143,  168,  170,  185,  220,  252, 

310,311,317,398,409 
Throgg's  Neck  Gardens,  412 
Throgmorton  (or  Throckmorton), 

John,  23,  30,  31,  251,  271,  401 
Tippett  (or  Tibbett),  George,  21,  60, 

79,  81,  82,  184,  293,  329,  382 
Tippett  house,  330 
Tippett's  Brook,  14,  15,  35,  81,  82, 

104,  164,  178,  181,  182,  188,  197, 


Index 


449 


Tippett's  Brook — {Continued) 
198,  212,  .215,  293,  294,  299, 
336 

Tippett's  Hill,  82,  124,  126,  131,  158 
Tippett's  Neck,  21,  82,  134,  327 
Tolls,  181,  183,  186,  189,  190,  194, 

195.  199,  213,  222,  317,  336 
Tompkins,  Gov.  Daniel  D.,  94 
Topography,  Borough,  14 
Tories,  83,  107,  114,  115,  117,  118, 

120,  123,  124,  130,  151,  156,  160, 

166,  169,  170,  175,  261,  264,  330, 

405,  408 
Totten,  Captain,  172 
Town-hall,  Morrisania,  375 
Townships,  2 
Trade,  colonial,  80 
Trade,  illegal,  80,  81 
Traders,  Dutch,  25 
Trails,  Indian,  211,  219,  417 
Travers,  William  R.,  290 
Trees,  153,  297,  300,  301,  305,  306, 

312,  314,  318,  319,  328,  365,  377, 

386,  401,  405,  413,  416,  423 
Tremont,  242,  281,  287,  342,  377 
Trespassers,  35,  39 
Trescott,  Major,  172 
Troops,  Continental  (regulars),  172, 

174 

True  Briton,  stallion,  156 

Tryon,  Governor,  122 

Turneur,  Daniel,  15,  43,  64,  65,  105, 

371,  372 
Turnier,  Jacqueline,  65 
Turnpikes,  213,  219 
Tweed  regime,  216,  377 
Twelve  Farms,  the,  42 
Twin  City  Ferry,  208,  404 
Twin  Islands,  5,  20, 309, 315 

Uncas  River,  178 

Underground   railways   {see  Sub- 
ways) 

Underhill  family,  407,  409 
Underhill,  Isaac,  263 
Underhill,  Israel,  262 
Underhill,  Capt.  John,  28,  409 
Underhill,  Mayor  Nathaniel,  123, 
259 

Union  Hospital,  13 
Unionport,  15,  212,  405,  412 
Union  Railway  Company,  240,  241, 
247 

United  Netherlands  Trading  Com- 
pany, 94 
United  States  Bank,  228 


United  States,  frigate,  431 
University  Heights,  346 
University  Park,  320,  351 
"Upper  Cortlandt's,"  154,  157,  296, 
327 

Ursuline  Academy,  356 

Valentine,  Dennis  (Senior  and  Jun- 
ior), 278 
Valentine  house,  156,  157,  357 
Valentine's  Hill,  15,  124,  137.  141, 

144,  148,  155,  171,216 
Valentine,  Stephen,  226 
Van  Corlaer,  Arendt,  28 
Van   Cortlandt,   Ann    (Mrs.  De 

Lancey),  82 
Van  Cortlandt,  Augustus,  296,  328 
Van  Cortlandt  Avenue,  128,  215 
Van  Cortlandt,  Catherine,  80,  81 
Van  Cortlandt,  Frederick  (First), 
294.  295 

Van  Cortlandt,  Frederick  (Second), 

296,  327,  328 
Van  Cortlandt,  Jacobus,  81,  82,  293, 

294,  301 

Van  Cortlandt,  Col.  James,  Ii8, 

259.  295,  327 
Van  Cortlandt  Lake,  215,  294,  300, 

336 

Van  Cortlandt  mansion,  181,  197, 
212,  294,  295,  296,  298,  300,  327, 

336 

Van  Cortlandt,  Oloff  Stevenson,  340 
Van  Cortlandt  Park,  35,  59,  154, 
156,  162,  171,  215,  245,  287,  291, 

293.  304,  336 
Van  Cortlandt,  Stephanus,  69,  80, 
81,  82 

Van  Courtlandt  Improvement  Dis- 
trict, 8 

Van  Curler,  Commissary,  41 

Van  Dam,  Rip,  75 

Van  der  Donck,  Adrien,  32,  33,  34, 

35,  59,  294,  300,  301 
Van  Elslant,  Claes,  35,  36 
Van  Nest,  250,  401 
Van  Rensselaer,  Kilian,  32,  224 
Van  Ruyven,  Cornelius,  252 
Van  Tienhoven,  Cornelis,  25,  27,  36, 

209 

Van  Twiller,  Gov.  Wouter,  364 
Van  Wurmb,  Lieut.-Col.,  154 
Van  Wyck,  Mayor,  245 
Vault  Hill,  162,  171,  301,  302 
Vehicles,  223,  224,  299 
Vercher's  Island,  105,  365 


450 


Index 


Vermilye,  Peter,  343 
Vermilye,  Thomas,  190 
Verrazano,  24 

Verveelen,  Johannes,  105,  180,  182, 

183,  184,  185,  192,  276,  335,  356, 
365 

Vesey,  Rev.  William,  256,  257 
Villanis,  Father,  285 
Vincent-Halsey  house,  426 
Vincents,  426 

Vriedelandt,  the,  30, 31 , 35, 37 

Waagh,  de,  37 
Waddington's  Point,  385 
Wading-places,  60,  61,  181,  182, 

184,  188,  192,  211,335 
Wadsworth,  Brig. -Gen.,  142 
Wagner,  Senator,  334 
Wakefield,  15,  235,  419,  421 
Waldeckers,  154 
Walgrove,  George  W.,  303 
Walworth,  Chancellor,  201 
Wampum,  26,  105,  316 
War,  Council  of,  141,  142 
Ward's  Island,  364 
Warner,  Capt.  John,  293,  325 
War,  French  and  Indian,  190,  281, 

282 

War  of  1 8 12,  299,  395 
Wars,  Dutch  and  English,  45,  57 
Wars,  Indian,  28,  29,  30,  35 
Washington  Bridge  {see  Bridges) 
Washington  Bridge  Park,  321,  351 
Washington,  George,  17,  119,  122, 
124,  125,  126,  131,  137,  138,  139, 
141,  142,  143,  148,  150,  156,  157, 
168,  170,  172,  176,  189,  292,  295, 
297,  298,  302,  311,  345,  354,  360, 
361,  363,420,  429 
Washingtonville,  421 
Water  supply,  17,  202,  203,  204,  216, 
357 

Waters,  Edward,  58 
Webb,  William  Henry,  344 
Webb's  Academy  and  Home,  217, 

277,320,344,345,346 
Weckquaesgeck  Indians,  18,  25,  28, 

34,  43,  211,  312 
Weddings,  colonial,  no,  260,  390 
W<  ir  Creek,  18,  42 
Wendover  Avenue,  319,  371 
Wendover,  Peter  H.,  376,  377 
Westchester,  36,  37,  38,  41,  42,  48, 
49»  5*1  53,  56,  57,  58,  60, 70, 7 1 ,  72 , 
83,  95i  97,  98,  100,  104,  114,  115, 
1  '9,  123,  133,  137,  139,  140,  143, 


152,  166,  170,  189,  209,  218,  220, 
221,  251,  252,  253,  261,  263,  271, 
279,  282,  310,  343,  374,  395 
Westchester  Avenue,  16,  219,  245, 

247,  266,  402,  405 
Westchester  burying-ground,  263, 

266 

WTestchester  campaign,  127, 137, 149 
Westchester  causeway,   140,  141, 
317 

Westchester  Creek,  15,  18,  22,  31, 
35,  140,  141,  185,  209,  211,  220, 
310,  406,  407 

Westchester  County,  1,  2,  6,  7,  8, 14, 
16, 17,26,28,  47,  56,  61, 65,  67,  72, 
77,  83,  86,  87,  92,  116,  117,  118, 
119,  120,  122,  130,  137,  147,  151, 
186,  193,  195,  196,  201,  221,  229, 

248,  249,  272,  281 
Westchester  Country  Club,  413 
Westchester  Light  Horse,  83,  151, 

152,  163, 172,  173,  174,  330,  348 
Westchester  Parish,  253,  254,  256, 
257 

Westchester  Path,  60,  21 1,  213,  219, 
417,  424,  425 

Westchester-Pelham Turnpike  Com- 
pany, 317 

Westchester  Polo  Club,  412 

Westchester  Racing  Association, 
290 

Westchester,  township  of,  2,  4,  5,  7, 

305,  342,  395,  419 
Westchester    Traction  Company, 
241 

Westchester  Turnpike  Company, 
219 

Westcott,  John,  60 

West  Farms,  4,  5,  6,  7,  16,  18,  22, 42, 
48,  83,  84,  104,  114,  119,  133,  152, 
156,  167,  193,  194,  209,  210,  229, 
240,  245,  249,  271,  280,  287,  290, 
305,  3i8,  342,  371,  38o,  389,  390, 
392 

West  India  Company,  25,  27, 31,  33, 

34,  37, 42,  45,  46,  49,  93 
West  Morrisania,  371 
Whale-boatmen,  160,  161 
Wheeler,  Lieut.  Thomas,  36,  37,  38 
Whigs,  330,  391 
Whitefield,  George,  286 
White  Plains,  114,  115, 116, 119,130, 

131,  135,  141,  148,  149,  153,  159, 
171,  221,  229,  397,  398,  420 
White  Plains  Road,  215,  220,  247, 
417,  419,  426 


Index 


45i 


Whitestone,  Long  Island,  22,  185 
Whiting,  James  R.,  328 
Whitlock,  Benjamin,  387,  388 
"Whitlock's  Folly,"  388 
Wigs,  90 

Wigwam  Brook,  43,  381 
Wilkins,  Gouverneur  Morris,  407, 
409 

Wilkins,  Isaac,  72,  117,  264,  359, 

399,  407,  409 
Wilkins  Creek  (see  Pugsley's  Creek) 
Wilkins  house,  the,  261,  407,  408 
Willett,  Gilbert,  72 
Willett,  Isaac,  259 
Willett,  Thomas,  31 
Willett,  William,  57,  77,  402 
Willett's  Point,  18,  72 
William  and  Mary,  69,  70 
William  Henry,  Prince  (William  IV), 

174,298 
William  III.,  75 
Williams,  Captain,  172 
Williams,  John,  124,  356,  418 
Williams,  Roger,  29,  30 
Williams's  Bridge  (see  Bridges) 
Williamsbridge,  2,  15,  17,  124,  128, 

149,  152,  155,  158,  214,  215,  342, 

356,  418,  419 
Williamsbridge  Road,  417 
Wilson,  Gen.  James  Grant,  384 
Wilton,  371,  378 
Winter  of  1778-79,  166 
Winthrop,  Gov.  John,  46 
Witchcraft,  57,  58 
Woariatapus,  51 


Wolf's  Lane,  146 
Wolves,  53,  426 
Woodbridge,  Major,  173 
Woodlawn,  232,  235,  422 
Woodlawn  Cemetery,  128,  216,  321, 

340,  421,  422 
Woodlawn  Heights,  15,  162,  163, 

329,  341 
Woodstock,  371 
Wooley,  John,  185 
Woolf,  Anthony,  371 
Wooster,  General,  156,  157,  158 
Wright,  J.  Hood,  237 
Wyatt,  Rev.  Christopher,  265 
Wynkoop,  Colonel,  119 

Yachts,  430 
YafT,  73 

Yagers,  153,  154,  155,  170 

Yale  College,  102 

Yards,  railroad,  231,  232,  233,  235 

Yates,  Robert,  118 

Yonkers,  2,  6,  14,  15,  33,  59,  60,  81, 

119,  125,  137,  149,  152,  155,  162, 

171,  211,  212,  229,  253 
Yorkshire,  ridings,  47 
Yorktown,  Virginia,  165,  171 
Youngs,  George,  100 

Zboroski,  Martin,  319,  371 
Zenger,  John  Peter,  74,  77,  78,  82 
Zion  M.  E.  Church,  Westchester, 
286,  287 

Zoological  Society  and  Gardens,  308 , 
351 


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